Wishmaster's Vengeance
by jomo2014
Summary: Finn and Simone have settled into life together as a family, doing their best to forget the harrowing trip to the Maze, but have they truly outsmarted Aquandrius the Wishmaster? Or did something else take root in the wishes made that night? And how will Simone deal with the deadly truth about Finn's real family. Rated M for Lemons. Adventure Time is the property of Penn Ward.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"We haven't had a Captain of the Guard since Rootbeer Guy died," murmured Bonnie. Finn nodded. He had fond memories of that time. RBG was a riot. He'd been a very good guard captain, and Finn missed him quite a bit. He wasn't sure where Bonnie was going with this, though. Seeing puzzlement on his young face, Bonnibel Bubblegum sighed and announced, "the job's yours, if you want it, Finn. It comes with a lot of responsibility, but it also comes with a salary, a pension, all sorts of things a father and husband could use..."

Now he saw, and he stared at Bonnie a moment. Then, after a brief moment's thought, Finn grabbed Bonnie's face, kissed her thoroughly, and howled, "heck, yeah!" He was practically dancing. With Billy and Simone, plus possibly one more on the way, he needed the cash. Raiding dungeons wasn't going to pay the bills–not if he wanted to actually be home to see his kids. Being an absentee butthead like Jake had been wasn't going to cut it.

Giggling, Bonnie said, "ok, Finn. You can start tomorrow." Slapping him on the back, she sent him on his way. She imagined he'd run all the way home to tell Simone. Watching as Finn dwindled into the distance, she couldn't help smiling. That felt... _right_. She'd held on a little too long and a little too hard. He did deserve to be happy after all he'd been through. Turning around, she headed back inside to get to work on her goo-guy eradication formula. The wastelands were just too juicy a resource to ignore, and she needed to get rid of the mutants so she could colonize them.

Finn did, in fact, run all the way home. Excited as anything, he came huffing and puffing up to his house to find Simone sitting outside, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather with Billy on her lap. She was half asleep, and Billy was snoring softly. Rushing up, Finn found himself skidding to a halt on the slippery grass. It wasn't good to wake the baby, and he knew sometimes Simone waited for hours for the little guy to go to sleep. He'd be able to help with some of that now. The long trips across the land looking for treasure to loot had been a drag on their relationship the last few weeks. Finn was constantly gone, and when he was home, he was too tired to help her with Billy. Now that would change.

Tip-toeing up, he whispered to his girl, "Simone..." Her eyes popped open, and she looked up in startled surprise. She hadn't expected him back for another day. Motioning her to put Billy down to sleep, Finn tip-toed away. The beautiful woman gently lay their baby in the basket next to the swing, then followed her husband of just three months back to the doorway of the house. "What's got you back so soon," she whispered? "Dungeon was a bust," sighed Finn. "Somebody already hit it." That was a bit of a disappointment. Bills for the pregnancy had eaten up a lot of their money supply.

Grinning, he told her, "I stopped off at Bonnie's place. I got a job. A real one." Simone stared at him a moment. Then, delightedly, she threw herself on him and hugged the stuffing out of him. Stepping back, she said, "we can celebrate..." Frowning, Finn reminded her, "I thought we were savin'." Simone replied, "Lady stopped by. We're invited to their place for dinner." "Mathematical," murmured Finn!

That evening, the little family packed some things and headed across the grasslands to Jake and Lady's place. Finn was carrying Billy on his shoulders, and the little guy was giggling and happy. Holding Finn's hand, Simone announced, "I'll be glad when summer's back..." Finn glanced her way, a smirk on his face. Guessing what he was thinking, she put out her tongue at him. Making a face, she said, "it's Simone, remember? Not Ice-Queen..." Chuckling, Finn said, "I still owe you that coat." He'd been promising to go out and kill a bear. He needed a new hat after all. Squeezing his hand, she offered, "you've been busy, honey. When you get the time. I'm doing fine..."

They made Jake and Lady's place an hour before dinner. Jake met them at the door, looking a little pudgier. "Finn," howled Jake! He grabbed his bro and hugged him. Lady immediately took Simone and headed for her sun-porch, with Simone taking Billy off her husband's shoulders. Finn and Jake headed for the kitchen to get started on dinner.

Jake already had a massive pot of his 'everything' stew going. Finn pitched in and started making side dishes. "How goes it," asked Finn? "Ah," muttered Jake. He didn't seem happy, and Finn wondered what was wrong. "How's Lady," asked Finn? "Wants me to get a job," muttered Jake. "Says I'm moping..." Finn frowned. Jake did sound pretty mopey.

Out on the sun-porch, Simone found two of Jake and Lady's daughters sitting along with Pat, their sister-in-law. Charlie, who was a down-to-earth girl, sat sipping coffee. Jake Jr had a glass of wine. Much to Simone's surprise, Jr. looked almost human. The young shape-changer wore a pants-suit in grey. "What in the world," murmured Simone? Charlie chuckled, "my brother's idea, aunt Simone. Jr.'s gonna' work in his sales office. He wanted her to be a little more approachable." Simone offered her niece a compliment, "you look lovely, dear."

Pat rolled her eyes. They had hired Jr. to help her pay the fines she owed for her various crooked schemes. Pat had objected, but she chose not to point that out. The gathering moved on, with everybody asking how Simone was doing. "Not crazy," chuckled Simone. She thanked them all for their help. She feared what she would have done under the Tiara's sway. "Where's the crown now," asked Jr.? Simone shrugged. "Beats me," said she. "Haven't seen it since. I imagine Bonnibel has it locked up somewhere." She'd be perfectly happy never seeing it again, and she said so.

Lady moved the conversation on, asking about how Finn was handling being a dad. Smiling, Simone replied, "just fine. He gets up to help with the baby, and he even went and got a job today..." "Oh," asked Charlie? "What's he doing?" Proudly, Simone offered, " Captain of the Guard for Princess Bubblegum..." Pat opined, "you got the prize of the pair..." Simone blushed to her hair, and Charlie sprayed tea out her nose. It was a known fact that Jake wasn't allowed anywhere near his granddaughter. He'd been a bumbling father the whole way through, and it amazed Charlie that he'd gotten as far as he did.

Out in the kitchen, Finn was stir-frying vegetables while Jake finished off the stew. They had been talking about the good old days with Finn trying to cheer Jake up. While they worked, Kim Kil Whan came through the back door, talking on his cellphone. Finn greeted him with an enthusiastic, "hey, dude!" Kim waved to him as he continued his conversation. The real-estate mogul walked across the kitchen, still talking on the phone. Jake watched him go with a look of sadness on his face.

"C'mon, dude," said Finn. "Talk to me. What's eatin' you?" With a heavy sigh, Jake admitted, "kids told me I was a deadbeat. They said I have to get a job!" He'd never had a job before! They only thing close was running his old gang, and Kim had said he couldn't do that anymore. "Aw, dude," sighed Finn. "You can do it! It's not that hard! I just got a job this morning!" Jake stared at him. "You did," he gobbled? "Where?" "Workin' for Peebles," said Finn. "I'm now Captain of the Banana Guards." Jake's jaw came unhinged! "Dude," he howled! "That's great!" He slapped Finn on the shoulder in excitement. Finn laughed.

Smiling, Finn said, "I decided I needed to get something so I could be home with Simone and Billy every day." Now he got to see his baby-boy and his girl all the time–if you didn't count the walk into the Candy Kingdom every morning. But he had an answer for that too. When Billy was older, Simone could get a job too, and she could come into town with him, and they could take Billy to school.

Jake said, "I'm happy for you, man." Far from sounding happy, he sounded even more depressed. "What's wrong, Jake," asked the hero? "Nothin', man," sighed Jake. "It's... It's just that... I was thinkin' about the old days when it was just us and we had the treehouse and Beemo, and we could do whatever we wanted." With a nod, Finn replied, "I totes get where you're comin' from, man. I miss going out on adventures and just knockin' down monsters n'stuff. Or-or droppin' in on Tree-Trunks for pie, or pickin' up trash to eat in the Candy Kingdom!"

Seeing that his sympathy didn't have the desired effect, Finn realized that there was something deeper there than missing the old days. He wasn't sure what it was, and he was considering asking about it, when Kim Kil Whan came back through. The businessman told his father, "mom wants you." Jake scooted out of there like his tail was on fire. When he'd gone, Kim looked around, then nodded for Finn to follow him. Puzzled now, the human hero followed his nephew out the back door of the house.

Shutting the door behind him, Kim turned to his uncle and said, "I'm happy you've chosen stability, uncle Finn." Finn frowned at him in puzzlement. He wasn't sure where this was going. "I'm proud to hear that you're moving on in life," said the dog-icorn. "Thanks, man," said Finn with a smile. At the same time, he knew there was another shoe waiting to drop. "So what's up with your dad," he asked? "He wants to stay a kid," said Kim. "He wants to stay up all night playing Card Wars like he used to or to go wander off into the wilderness." Finn blushed. That hit a little close to home!

Nodding, Kim said, "you must not allow him to join you in working for Princess Bubblegum." Finn's jaw dropped open. "What the what," he howled?! The businessman said, "he's not going to be a help to you, Finn. He's just going to want to do the same things he did before. Hang out, eat, play games, eat, have fun, and eat. If you let him come to work for you, you'll both end up with nothing."

Finn blushed to his hair. Simone had totes bitched him out once when Jake came over and the two spent hours playing Beemo. He'd been days apologizing for that one. "Yeah, man," sighed Finn. Kim was right. Jake hadn't changed much since his son evicted them from the treehouse. It was like it just wasn't in his nature to be responsible. With a heavy-hearted sigh, Finn said, "ok. I'll... I'll think of something." Kim thanked him, adding, "he'll be better for it, uncle Finn." The two shook hands and went back inside.

Viola and TV had arrived, and the whole family was sitting around the table. Viola was cradling her cousin, and she gave Finn a cheery hello and a wave when he came through the door. Jake was in the process of serving up dinner, and Finn immediately pitched in. The two doled out stir-fry and everything stew, and Jr. even provided a nice bottle of wine that she'd brought. For a little while, things were perfect.

Finn caught the rest of his extended family up on goings on around the Candy Kingdom. PB was working on a goo-guy eradication formula to wipe out the mutants in the wastelands so she could open a colony there. Simon and Betty had apprenticed themselves as wizards in Wizard City, and Simone was immersing herself in reading every book she could get her hands on, filling gaps in her memories with as much knowledge as she could get.

The former Ice-Queen had an amazing mind. She could remember just about anything at a glance, and she had become almost an encyclopedia of information. Everyone there cheered the beautiful human woman, congratulating her on fitting in. Simone, a little embarrassed by all the praise, blushed to her hair. At the same time, she was all smiles. This was the best moment of her life. They were all here and all well, and she wasn't battling the Ice-Tiara over its desire to hurt her family.

"So when do we get another cousin," asked Viola? Simone and Finn both blushed. The former sorceress temporized, "working on it." Which set Jake to guffawing loudly, earning him a glare from his eldest son. An oblivious Jake opined, "too bad you didn't put more in her, Finn. You'd be all done..." Blushing, Finn reminded him, "uh, humans are... _different_, Jake. Mostly, it's one to a customer." The stretchy dog laughed unconvincingly, "yeah, I knew that. I was just testin' ya..."

Moving on, Finn announced the big news of the day, telling everybody about his new job as Captain of the Banana Guards. His nieces and nephews were certainly impressed. As the congratulations got said, and Finn's back got slapped, Jake piped up with, "well, I guess we know where I'll be gettin' a job!" Finn blushed. He was extremely conscious of Kim Kil Whan's eyes on him. All his nieces and nephews were looking at him. Viola excitedly asked, "can he, uncle Finn?! That would be wonderful!"

Finn temporized, "I kinda' don't have the right to do that, Jake. I'd have to talk to PB." "Well, let's go see her in the morning," said Jake! "I'm sure she'll say yes! After all the times we've helped her out, she kinda' owes us!" Finn nodded. "Uh, yeah," said he. "I'll go ask her." Seeing the distress he was under, Simone stepped in and changed the subject. She wanted to talk about the new Squeezy Mart that was opening in the grasslands and how much easier it was going to be to go shopping.

"What've you been doing all this time," asked Pat? With a laugh, Simone reminded her, "I used to be able to _fly_, remember?" Bringing home the bacon had been easy, then! Now she was on foot. Even Kim Kil Whan had to laugh at that.

Finn helped Jake haul the dirty dishes and pots to the kitchen to wash, while the rest of the family sat around the living room, sipping hot tea and chatting. Simone was anxious for the weather to turn, so she could spend a little more time out doors in the garden. She also wanted a chance to take long walks–exercise to get her figure back.

Charlie chatted about her work in Turtle Princess's library, and Viola sort of bounced between being fascinated by her aunt and by her sisters. Pat monitored little Bronwyn, her daughter, who'd developed an intense fascination for her second-cousin. The tyke was sitting beside Billy's basket, playing with him and teasing him. The bear-woman had sort of been hoping for a few more children amongst her husband's family–so Bronwyn would have friends to play with, and she was delighted to see that finally starting to happen.

In the kitchen, Jake continued to chatter away in excitement about his new job as second chief of the Banana Guards, while Finn did his best to force laughter in all the right places. He was in a pickle. He knew his nephew was right. If he brought Jake into the Guards, he'd get nothing done. If that happened, Peebles would be mondo disappointed, and he'd get the axe! He couldn't afford to do that!

At the same time, Jake was his brother. He didn't want to dump on his bro just to help himself! He was trapped, and it was eating him up inside. His oblivious brother continued to talk about all the stuff they could do–slacking off from duty, of course. He wanted to go out dungeon-crawling like before. "Got to keep those threats to the Kingdom at bay," opined the stretchy-dog. And he would have hung out near downtown. "Somebody's got to keep those sneaky people honest," explained Jake. Finn's bro had a legion of dumb ideas for what they could do to goof off while pretending to work, and Finn's dismay grew larger and larger. He had to think of a way out of this. Fast.

Finally, as the clock chimed for ten o'clock, Finn and Simone said their goodbyes. They were parents now, and, much as he might have liked to hang around longer, parents didn't walk through the dark with their baby in the freezing cold. Draping his coat on Simone and Billy both, Finn led the way home through the darkness.

As they walked, Simone asked, "so what's wrong, Finn?" Finn ducked his head and tugged at his collar. She knew him too well. "Kim Kil Whan's asked me not to hire Jake," sighed Finn. Simone frowned at her husband. That didn't make sense. The kids were complaining that Jake was a lazy stumble-bum who did nothing but eat and laze around the house. Why ask Finn not to help him?

"Because it's _me_," sighed Finn. Which was just a shade worse. The pups all loved Finn. It made no sense at all that they would ask him not to work with their father. "When Jake and me get together," rumbled Finn. "When we get to hangin' out... It's... It's like we're kids again." He looked up into her misty grey eyes and said, "you've seen it..." Simone blushed. She had indeed. She'd stopped talking to him for a day because of it. Finn explained, "if Jake comes to work with me, he'll want it to be just like always." "And you'll both get canned," sighed Simone. She got it now. Now she knew why Finn was so reluctant to endorse his brother.

"So you're going to call Bonnibel when we get home, honey," said Simone. "You're going to work it out with her. Let _her_ be the one to say no." Finn's head whipped around. Nodding, she said, "he's your _brother_, honey. I understand how that feels. Bonnibel... She's a stranger. She's your friend, but she's not _family_. She can make the hard choice." Finn laughed only semi-humorously. Bonnie was good at making the hard choices alright.

With things settled in his mind, he was a lot more relaxed. "Aren't you cold, honey," said she. "Nah, man," said Finn. There was a bounce in his step now. He was thinking again, and he said, "I know how to fix things with Jake." Simone gave him a curious look. "Jake... Jake's always wanted to be a mailman. Now that there's people living outside the Candy Kingdom, it'd be nice if they could get mail too." She saw where this was going. Jake could have all the importance of having a job and have the comfort of being just as lazy as he'd always been. She was proud of her husband for coming up with a compromise. Leaning over, she kissed his cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Hey, Captain Finn," announced the giant, talking banana. "You got time for a visitor?" "Send him in," said Finn. It was his third day on the job, and he was just starting to settle in. Simone had made him a lunch that morning, sending him on his way with a kiss and a promise that they'd put Billy to bed early tonight and have some fun between the sheets. It had been a while, and Finn was eagerly looking forward to it. He kind of understood now why Jake had sort of wandered off from Lady and the pups. Being a dad was hard work. At the same time, Finn the Human was game for anything. He refused to let Billy down, and he intended to be right there beside Simone all the way until Billy was on his own.

One thing he was having to get used to was the lack of well _adventure_ in his life. He hadn't been out in the woods really since the quest to save Simone and Simon. He'd been occupied getting Billy and Simone resettled in their home. Then he'd been occupied trying to scrounge up money to pay the bills. Between those things, he'd been running errands in town for Simone, getting baby-supplies and food for the house. Simone thought that Billy was getting to the age where she could handle some of that herself, and, with the weather turning, he'd be lots safer. Now, as captain of the guard, the worst thing he saw was unruly candy-people. And what were _they_ going to do.

"Well, don't _you_ look cozy," announced Huntress. Finn looked up to see the wizard coming through his door. She stood there a moment in his doorway with her cloak thrown carelessly over her arm, taking it all in, while he took _her_ in. Finn's eyes scanned her from her toes to her head, noticing things that he hadn't really noticed before. She was wearing a loose, sleeveless brown shirt over grey pants today. Her shirt was unbuttoned down between her perky little boobies, revealing acres of pale green skin, and those pants hugged tight to her legs, revealing that the little plant-woman was built like a brick shit house.

As Finn watched, she padded around his office, swinging that fantastic ass, and leaving him with a serious case of dry-mouth. She was smokin'! She stood there in front of the window, staring out, letting him get a good, long look, and every bad thought he could have had went spilling through his mind. The petite little beauty drove all thoughts of his wife and child from his mind.

Turning to face him, she gave him a sweet smile. She'd never smiled before. And then it hit him. She wasn't wearing the mask. His face went hot. Shit, she was pretty. It was hard to believe she had to wish for true love. He would have expected her to have to chase guys away with a face like that. "So, uh..., what gives," he asked? He knew he shouldn't be staring at another girl. He was married. Officially. And he loved Simone. He didn't ever want to lose her.

"Well," said she, as she came and perched on the edge of his desk, "I thought I'd come and see Bonnibel's henchman." Finn stared up at her, gazing into those beautiful green peepers. "Wha-for," asked Finn intelligently? Smiling, she reached out and stroked his chin with the tip of a gloved finger, "because you're now the guy who's got the money, donk." Finn frowned in puzzlement. "Uh... you want a job," he babbled? "Maybe," said she. Now he felt kind of like an idiot. He didn't know _anything_ about being Captain of the Guard yet. Thinking fast, he said, "I... don't have anything right now. If something comes up, I'll send you a message." "Fair enough," said she. She hovered there a few moments longer. Her perfume was driving him crazy.

After a long few moments that way, she let out a brief sigh, then rose and turned to go. "I might come back in a few days," said she. She was looking over her shoulder at him. He was looking at her butt. Those pants were so tight, they were drawn up in her butt-crack, and Finn, horny out of his mind after months of no lovin', was _drooling_. "Yeah," he murmured. "Sure." Grinning, Huntress sauntered out the door, almost seeming to prance, making that cupcake bottom wig-wag back and forth.

Finn was still staring into space and almost drooling when Jake came in. "Hey, Finn," Jake greeted him. Shaking off his shock, Finn greeted his bro with, "hey, Jake!" The stretchy dog strolled up to the desk, sniffing the air as he came. "Simone stop by," he asked? Blushing in memory of all the staring he did, Finn admitted, "Huntress came by looking for work..." Remembering his earlier conflict, he added, "I had to turn her down." "That's too bad," said Jake. Grinning, he added, "she's real pretty." Finn blushed to his hair. "_Jake_," howled Finn! "I don't need some pretty girl hanging around!" He had a _wife_! Simone would cut off his nards! And he'd _deserve_ it!

Jake chuckled, "listen, bro! You're gonna' find that things don't quite work the way ya think, when you're with somebody..." Finn frowned. What was he saying? Conspiratorially, Jake whispered, "man, I take every chance I get t'look... Ya know... Peepin' girls' bods is mostly all you get t'do when you're tied down..." Finn gave him a look of utter horror. "I bet you and Simone ain't done it in _months_," said Jake. "Am I right?" Finn's look of shock told him he was absolutely right.

"Yeah," said Jake. "Lady wasn't much interested in doin' Tier 15 near the end... Not much for a while after the pups came, either." Finn could hardly believe his bro was saying this stuff! "Jake," muttered Finn. "Wh-what are you trying to say?" "Listen, Finn," said Jake. "Straight up, man. Sometimes a man's gotta' take care o'stuff on his own. Get it outside the house. That way... you're not fightin' with your girl... You get relief, and she don't got to hear you complainin'..." _Is he,_ thought Finn? _He's telling me he cheated on Lady!_ Finn was horrified all over again.

"Anyways," said Jake, "I talked to PB earlier today..." Finn tensed, wondering if PB had hurt his feelings. "Didn't get the job working for the Banana Guards," sighed Jake. Finn could tell he was a little crushed. Brightening, Jake admitted, "got somethin' better! I'm gonna' be a mailman!" "Dude," shouted Finn, "you always wanted to be mailman!" Jake was ecstatic, and he was full of all kinds of ideas for things he could do as a mailman. Finn happily encouraged him, though he did have to nudge him back on course a couple of times when Jake started trying to morph his mailman job into working with the Banana Guards. "Anyways," said the stretchy dog, "I need to get home and tell Lady." Finn slapped him on the back in congratulations. He hoped now Kim and the other pups would get off Jake's back.

As Jake headed out, Huntress was headed in–to see Bonnibel Bubblegum. Standing across from the front gates of the candy-palace, the wood-nymph stood there soul searching. Was she ready for this? Did she want to commit to going down this road? It was one hell of a change in her life. She'd lived on the edge for most of her existence, dodging disaster by the thinnest of margins, and through it all she'd never let herself get bogged down with other people.

Loner to the last, she'd kept to herself, maintaining a fleet of hidden lairs across Ooo where she had healing potions, magic to defend her life, and food to sustain her. She'd thought more in terms of having bolt-holes rather than having homes. Things had changed in the last few months. Deny it as much as she wanted, she could no longer pretend that her life was the same. At the same time, it was hard to move forward, when her past had a shackle latched securely around her leg, holding her back.

Instinct said she should run. She should leave this place and flee far away. She should put distance between herself and the strange _feelings_ she had just now. No way should she give up everything that she was for something so stupid and utterly hopeless. She'd laughed at wizards and mundanes alike who did that. What kind of stupid _donk_ let themselves be so tied up as to give up their freedom like that?

_Your kind, Emeraude,_ thought the wizard.

She was fooling herself if she thought this feeling was going to go away. It had been burning inside her when she walked into the maze, and it had only gotten stronger since then. That burning feeling kept her awake at night in her lonely, _empty_ bed. Now it had brought her _here_. She was here to give up her freedom.

With a heavy sigh, Huntress stepped off, crossing the street in just a few strides. At the gate, she gave her name and stated her business. The giant, talking banana relayed her message inside with alacrity. They were afraid of her since she'd smashed one of them months ago for giving her too much lip. She'd had to soothe the pink princess's ruffled feathers after that, but she'd reasoned at the time that it was worth it. It added to the mystique. She wasn't somebody you messed with. After that, none of them wasted her time asking a hundred dumb questions that she would only talk about with their boss. She crowded the line and got in to see Princess Bonnibel whether anyone else liked it or not.

The little mint came out to meet her. He was a little more dangerous, what with his ties to the demon-lord of the Night-o-Sphere and Death himself. Huntress didn't push too hard with him, but she did push a little so that he too learned not to hassle her. "Good morning, Huntress," Peppermint Butler greeted her. "How may we help you?" "Need to see your boss, Peps," replied the wizard. "Urgent." They had a mutual respect, and Peppermint Butler immediately beckoned her to come in with him.

Bonnie looked up at her visitor with a frown as Peppermint Butler led Huntress through her door. She was a little surprised to see the wizard. With Finn back and working for her permanently and Rattleballs still working behind the scenes, her need for a mercenary had declined drastically. She had sent a courier to let the younger woman know she'd made a more permanent arrangement.

More surprises were coming. As the wizard stopped in front of her, Bonnie reflexively looked her over. Trim and lean, Huntress was a very beautiful young woman, but then Bonnie had never seen an ugly wood-nymph. That wasn't what truly stunned the candy monarch. No, that honor was reserved for the sight of her beautiful face. Huntress wasn't wearing her trademark mask.

As Bonnibel pondered the meaning of that, the wizard said, "I know you said you didn't really need me anymore, but I thought about things and I kinda got to thinking that maybe it was a price thing..." Bonnie frowned. This woman had called her a skinflint behind her back. Seeing that frown, Huntress decided she should get to the point. "I thought maybe you could use a court-wizard," said the wood-nymph.

Bonnie thought long and hard about that. Honestly, she didn't have much more trust for this woman than Finn had. Huntress had grudgingly helped her while Finn was busy with his wife, but she'd charged a fair premium for that. She had a reputation for being mercenary through and through. The candy-princess couldn't help wondering what her angle was. _Finn did tell me she'd been gravely wounded,_ thought Bonnie. That was enough to change most people's perspectives on life. It had drastically changed Bonnie's when she'd been dropped in a pit full of lich-goop and changed into the lich's host-body. It was entirely possible that this woman had decided to move on and settle down.

_She does present a bit of a quandary,_ thought Bonnie. The princess had always wanted to study a 'wizard' to see how their powers actually worked. This was a prime opportunity. "Alright," murmured Bonnie, "on one condition." Frowning–showing a little of the feisty nature that had put her at loggerheads with Bonnie at one time or another–Huntress asked, "what?" "I want to know your name," said Bonnie. "Your real one."

Huntress sighed heavily. She'd known going in there would be a price. _So how much do you want this,_ she thought? A voice inside her reminded her of the stakes. This was only the most important thing to her since being born. "Alright," rumbled the wizard, "but if I once hear it on the lips of one of your little candy citizens, you'll answer for it." Bonnie assured her the name would remain confidential. "It's Emeraude," rumbled the wood-nymph wizard. Bonnie nodded appreciatively. It was entirely appropriate. "Alright," said the princess. "You've got the job."

The wizard didn't cheer. She might not have had any reaction at all to the casual observer. Bonnie was hardly a casual observer, though. She was probably the most observant person on Ooo, and she did pick up on the sigh of relief the little witch let out. This was very important to Emeraude for some reason, and that had Bonnie very curious. In the now, though, she told her new court wizard to go and meet with her minister, Peppermint Butler. Bonnie had work to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"I'm sorry," murmured Simone. She was wearing the most guilty expression he'd ever seen. Finn yawned and said, "forget it. It's... Dr. P said it'd be tough..." Simone still felt a little embarrassed. It had taken a while for her to even get in the mood, and then Billy's crying had interrupted in the middle. Slipping an arm around her shoulders, Finn said, "we'll be ok..." His beautiful wife kissed his cheek. Finishing his coffee, Finn kissed her perfect lips and slipped her a little tongue. She was very tempted to jump him right there in the breakfast nook. "I love you, babe," he whispered.

Finn got dressed and headed out, bound for the Candy Kingdom. Simone gathered up their son and headed out to Squeezy-Mart for supplies. Finn had spent a fair bit of time fashioning a decent coat out of the old furs that had covered their bed. Now Simone huddled into that coat as she went trudging through the late winter snow. Things sure had been easier when she could fly, although her newly trimmed eyebrows and nails were something she and Finn both appreciated.

As she walked, she thought of her husband and all they'd gone through to get to this point. _We've come so far! I can't fail now,_ she thought. Her fertile mind started working on a plan to get things back on track. It was time to put an end to Finn taking cold showers, even if it meant hiring a sitter to help manage Billy for a while. _We should be having date night,_ thought the former sorceress. _We have to _make_ time for each other._

That felt... _right_. She was a mother, but she was also a wife. She couldn't neglect her man for her baby. Quickening her steps, she hustled to the store, intending to get the shopping done and get home so she could work on hiring a sitter for tonight.

Meanwhile, Finn was just walking into his office in the Candy Kingdom. The guards were all in their places, working away. The guards on the walls were doing their patrols. The streets had been clean of problems. It was looking like another boring day. _No regrets, Finn,_ thought the hero. _Simone and Billy need you._ He'd just have to get used to _boring_.

Finn sat down and dug into the reports, finding the usual boring topics. It hardly seemed anything ever really happened here. Finn could hardly believe the Princess needed an army of battlebots like Rattleballs. He could also see how the bots got mondo _bored_. What did they have to do all day? Finn sat back and pondered that. He couldn't help thinking that maybe Jake would have done ok. At the least, Finn would have had company. Now he'd be coming to this place to be bored every day.

"Penny for your thoughts, donk," rumbled Huntress. Finn looked up to find the wizard there at his door again, this time in a grey dress with a daring neckline over her usual purple boots. Finn's eyes popped as she came strolling in. Strolling up to his desk, she plucked one of the documents from the table and perched there on the edge. Finn found himself forced to confront her beauty. Again.

She scanned the report as Finn scanned her. From the angle where he sat, he got a lot of side-boob and a good view of the leggings she wore under her dress. His mind wanted to know. Stockings or tights. He knew what he wanted it to be. At the same time, he knew he really shouldn't be looking at her. Glancing away, he said, "just a report from the guards." Which stood to reason, since he was now Captain. "Do these guys do _anything_," asked Huntress? Finn blushed, and his mouth came open.

Glancing into those beautiful blue eyes, the wizard asked, "do they even go into the shady side of town?" Finn's blush deepened. He knew there _was_ a shady side of town. He'd been there chasing the apple-thief for Tree-Trunks. He'd met a pack of candy-kingdom gangsters. How had he forgotten that? "Your guys are sitting on their duffs," said Huntress. Dropping down onto her feet once more, she grabbed him by the wrist and started walking. "Wh-where we going," asked Finn? "It's time you got out, hero-boy," chuckled Huntress.

The wizard led him down to the same seedy bar where he'd taken Tree-Trunks on her quest to find her missing apples. _Shoulda' known,_ thought Finn. The wood-nymph took the lead. Ass shaking in that tight dress, she strolled straight through the door like she owned the place. Every face in that room turned to stare as she went straight up to the bar. So focused were they on Huntress that Finn was able to slip in without being noticed. He immediately went to a corner, found a table, and sat down.

The nasty barkeep walked up and immediately put a Jack-Cider on the rocks in front of Huntress, announcing, "courtesy of the man over yonder..." Coolly, the aloof wizard took the drink with a nod of her head toward the Simp in the corner. Predictably, the pussy-hound came rushing over. He was a giant gingerbread man in a track-suit, and his whole face seemed to glower. "You think about Mr. Twist's offer," rumbled the menacing dessert? "Maybe," replied Huntress as she artfully crossed her legs. "What's he want again?" "Mr. Twist thinks you'd be a great performer for his club," said the menacing pastry. "You got the legs for dancing...""Ok," replied the wood-nymph.

Without a further word, Huntress went strolling out with the giant gingerbread man. Finn finished his drink and then followed. He hung back a good distance as the wizard strolled up the street to the corner. As soon as the candy-person led his companion around the corner, Finn sprinted up the street after them, arriving at the corner to see them halfway up the street.

The hero repeated that maneuver for more than an hour as the pair walked across half the Candy Kingdom. Finally, around eleven, they came to a fancy mansion in the high-rent district. Finn watched from afar as the gingerbread goon led the wood-nymph wizard inside. Finn raced up the street and slipped into the bushes beside the house.

The hero went into full ninja mode, creeping through on his hands and knees until he heard voices. Peering up into the window, he found a skinny stick of licorice in a fancy suit sitting behind a desk. Huntress was standing in front of the desk looking sexy in that grey dress.

"So...," rumbled the licorice whip, "you want to work for me?" Huntress replied, "maybe... What would I be doing?" Leaning forward, Mr. Twist replied, "my mutant friends in Red City like pretty girls like you. They take all I can send. I've sent them over two-dozen water-nymphs already, but a couple have been clamoring for wood-nymph pussy." Huntress laughed. She laughed and laughed at the candy-gangster. "You think I'm joking," rumbled the twisted licorice? "Nope," said Huntress. "You guys tried snatching my cousin..." "So what's the joke," retorted Mr. Twist. "If I get fucked for cash, then I keep the money," laughed Huntress.

She gestured and a bolt of force shattered the window. On cue, Finn jumped through the opening, sword at the ready. "Banana Guards," shouted Finn! "Surrender!" The fight was on, quick as that with a dozen goons rushing through the door of that office and Mr. Twist pulling a sawed-off candy-cane from his desk. Finn sawed off the hand holding the sawed-off gun, then drilled a dagger into the big bruiser's skull. That gave the other hooligans pause.

Huntress scooted behind Mr. Twist's desk as the twelve thugs rushed the boy hero. The wizard felt a momentary surge of fear. There sure were a lot of them. Finn was like a freaking force of nature. Wading in, he ducked a clumsy swing by a yellow gumdrop and killed him with a knife through the heart. Spinning to his right, he cut a piece of licorice in half. Then he kneed a second gingerbread guy in the boin loins. Jumping over the crippled candy, Finn stabbed his sword through a sandwich cookie, killing him instantly.

Momentarily the survivors were going out the shattered window or back out the door to get away. Finn paused a moment as he considered giving chase. Huntress's voice on the phone behind him stopped him. "Yeah," said Huntress. "Send an ambulance and send a dozen guards." She hung up, finding Finn staring at her "What," said the wizard? "You _knew_ about this," he asked?

With a shrug, she replied, "uh, _yeah_. They tried to lure my cousin with chocolates. I killed six of them..." There were all sorts of sick fucks coming to her family's forest looking for girls. She'd learned to spot them early. It was the problem with being part of a species that only had girls. You didn't have guys to keep the creeps at bay. Moving out from behind the desk, Huntress shucked a shell into Mr. Twist's candy-cane. She headed out into the hall, with Finn following after her. He was in a state of shock.

"They keep the girls in the basement," said Huntress as they approached the door. As she reached for the door, Finn stopper her, saying, "wait here." "Uh-uh," replied Huntress. Finn glared at her. "You're not a member of the Guard," said Finn. "Nope," she replied with a grin. "I'm Her Highness's court wizard." Finn's jaw dropped open. Huntress grinned back sweetly at him. "You didn't tell me that," he hissed! "You didn't ask," she retorted! Turning back to the door, she asked, "so let's get to it?" Taking a deep breath, Finn let it go. She did have the authority. "Ok," he said.

The two of them down into the basement. It was a dank, dingy place, and the fetid air had Finn coughing in short order. Light coming from under one of the doors announced that there was somebody else down here, and Finn went creeping up to the heavy door with a dagger in his hand. As he approached, Huntress readied a spell to take down anybody or anything that might be on the far side.

When the wizard was in position on the right side of the door, Finn reached out, turned the handle, and jerked the door open. What they found on the far side surprised him a little. There sat a diminutive candy-person. She came dressed in a short, tight blue skirt under a body-hugging white jacket that emphasized her beautiful form. She might almost have been human if not for what looked like a soda-glass where her head should be. Poofy white hair, suggesting the foam on a soda completed the picture. Turning her dark eyes on the newcomers, she asked, "who are you?"

"We ask the questions," growled Huntress. "Who the fuck are you? Why're you down here?" "You're Cherry Cream Soda," rumbled Finn. The wizard gave him a look like he was crazy. "Finn the Human," replied the attorney. Rising from the desk she'd been sitting at, she turned to face them. Finn realized she was wearing a lacy top under that jacket, and he saw hints of plump boobies under her clothes. He realized he must have forgotten what Cherry looked like, because he didn't remember her being that sexy.

"You know her," growled the wood-nymph? "She's... Uh she was Rootbeer Guy's wife," rumbled Finn. A blush suffused his features as he realized that he now held Rootbeer Guy's job. He'd promised to help Cherry if she ever needed anything, but honestly he'd kind of forgotten about her. "Uh, what're you doing down here," asked the new guard-captain? "Did Twist kidnap you or something?" "I'm Mr. Twist's attorney," replied Cherry. "I was working on a case he had pending in court." Finn blushed again. Tugging on his collar, he said, "uh... Well... you can probably go home now..." She snorted, "what? Did you kill him?" "He's a dirty kidnaper," growled Huntress. "He's been snatching my people and selling them to slavers. Why don't you get lost already?"

"Very well," replied the attorney. She hardly looked intimidated. Gathering up her papers, she stuffed them in a satchel and headed for the door. Heels click-clacking on the floor, she strolled out. Finn glanced back and found himself jerking his head away. He didn't remember her having a butt either. _You were sixteen,_ he thought. Maybe he just didn't think about it back then?

"C'mon, donk," muttered an irritated Huntress. The wizard led the way back out into the hall and down to the end. "I think he kept the merchandise down here," said she. The two drew up on a massive candy-steel door set with a small window near head-height. _This must be the place,_ thought Finn. That door had 'prison' written all over it. Finn slid the observation panel back, revealing a large room with a small pool in the center on the far side. There were six forms floating in the pool. _Water nymphs,_ thought the young hero. It was just like Huntress had said. Stepping back, he said. "I'll bash the door." "Uh-uh," she replied. "_I'll_ bash the door." She had a glowing dart in her hands.

Seeing the look in her eyes, he knew he'd get an argument. And besides, he wanted to see what she could do. Finn stepped back and to his left, clearing the space before the door as she hefted the dart she held. Her bracelet began to glow, as, holding her hands roughly six inches apart, she channeled energy into the dart. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she let the dart go.

The dart struck the door with the energy of a battering ram, blasting the candy-steel door off its hinges. Finn stepped through as the six female forms within clambered up out of the fetid pool. The six of them were achingly beautiful–and absolutely stark naked. In short order, Finn had a pair of plump knockers pressed in against his left arm, a slim form pressed against his right side, and a pair of pale blue lips pressed against his. And a boner that wouldn't quit. That reaction wasn't helped at all by the girl rubbing her knobs against his back, or the girl who was trying to unfasten his pants in spite of his attempts to stop her.

"Ok, ok," grumbled Huntress. "Break it up." Part of her was amused by the reaction. The blush on his face was cute, and the attempt to hide his raging hard-on made her want to howl laughter. At the same time, she felt an intense, burning jealousy. These bitches were stepping on _her_ turf! She'd saved them from being pimped out over in mutant lands, and they were crowding her space.

Fortunately, the Banana Guards arrived to help clean up the mess. Finn immediately lit into the first guard on the scene, giving him a tongue-lashing for letting Mr. Twist sell people under PB's nose. He had choice words for all the guards who showed up. That let the hero duck the embarrassment of having a hard-on. Huntress let him. She took the nymphs upstairs and got them clothes to wear so they could get out of here and back to their home pool. By the time Finn got done shouting at his subordinates, she had the six of them ready to go.

Standing outside, with his guards rummaging through the house for any other surprises, Finn seemed to be a happy man. Unlike the mopey mood she found on him the couple of times she'd dropped in on him, he was actually smiling. Her hunch was right. He didn't really fit a settled life at all. Like her, he needed excitement and adventure.

"Did you have a good time," she asked? Finn's head snapped around to find his companion smiling back. Blushing, Finn admitted, "yeah. That was pretty cool..." Which was just what she wanted to hear. The pretty wizard stepped closer to him, and he could smell that sweet perfume, like spring in the forest. Before she could say a word, a familiar voice announced, "Captain Finn, Miss Huntress, Princess Bubblegum wishes to see you both." Huntress turned to find Peppermint Butler there, looking winded from having run across half the town. With a sigh, she said, "ok..." She set off in the direction of the palace. A beat late, Finn followed. After the water-nymphs, it was an effort not to watch that wiggling butt.

Peebles was shocked to find that there were even gangsters in her city and more appalled that they were actually kidnaping people from the lands around her kingdom and selling them into sex-slavery in mutant lands. Huntress thought the witch was hopelessly naive, but she didn't say a word as Finn got tasked with putting together an investigation to see just how far this went. As the sun set, the twosome found themselves back on the street outside the palace with new marching orders.

Standing beside the wizard, Finn couldn't help thinking that maybe he'd made a new friend. On her side, Huntress was eager to know just what he thought of her now. "So...," rumbled the wizard. "What do you think?" At his puzzled expression, she amended, "about the day?" "Not bad," he replied. "Not bad," she frowned?! "You managed not to be a pain in the butt," chuckled Finn.

She very nearly kicked him in the boin-loins until she realized he was teasing her. Reaching up, she stroked his cheek and said, "I'd say you owe me one, Captain." Finn flushed and flinched back from her. That... hurt a little. At the same time, she knew why. It was the ring he'd been flashing at her every time he moved his hand. "I'll buy you dinner," said Huntress smoothly, as she turned to go.

"Nah, man," said Finn. "I totes gotta' get home, or Simone'll kick my nads." "What, she keep them in her pocket or something," teased Huntress? Finn chuckled, "something like that." He was happy to admit that Simone Mertens owned him lock, stock, and barrel. Seeing the disappointed look on her face and wanting to preserve this strange comradery they'd built, Finn said, "but you can buy me lunch tomorrow." "Deal," said Huntress.

Finn headed for home with a smile on his face. In spite of the way the day started, things had gone pretty good. He'd had a heck of an adventure–with _Huntress_ of all people. He'd busted up a gang that was snatching girls and taking them off to the wastelands. He'd rescued six pretty girls and sent them home to their people. And he'd sort of made friends with Huntress too.

Strangely enough, that was the best part of all of this. He'd made a friend. With Huntress. He'd hung with her all day, just doin' stuff. He hadn't been able to just 'do stuff' in a year at least. If he let himself admit it, he kind of missed the easy life he had before–just doing stupid stuff with Jake and having no responsibilities at all. He missed just bashing dungeons, and a part of him would still be doing that. Hanging out with Huntress was like reliving good times.

Lost in memory, Finn came strolling up to the treehouse. He came in without announcing himself, barely remembered to kick off his shoes and swap for slippers, and came up the stairs in a fog. He was still in a fog, when he came out into the kitchen. It was only the realization that the house was completely dark that alerted him that something was up. Shaking off his fog, he looked around him in fear. Why was the room dark? Had Simone had a relapse? And then he spotted his wife, sitting there at the table, her beautiful face bathed in candle light. She was dressed in one of his favorite nighties, and his mouth went dry just at the sight of her.

All thoughts of dungeon-bashing fled Finn's mind at the sight of her. Finn was at the table in a heartbeat, and his pecker was there just a few instants before that. Simone gave him a sweet smile. She knew the effect she was having on her man. "W-where's Billy," babbled Finn? "With the sitters, honey," replied the sexy former sorceress. She got up, came around the table and made him sit down. Then, as he watched her hot body, she went in the kitchen, got dinner out of the oven, and announced, "dinner is _served_!"

"Wow," babbled Finn. It was all his favorite stuff. Barbecue fish tacos with french fries smothered in chili-sausage. Mouth watering, Finn just stared. He was torn between his hunger for his favorite foods and his hunger for Simone. He would gladly have porked the shit out of her and forgotten all about dinner. Simone solved his dilemma. Slipping into his lap, she grabbed a fork and started feeding him herself.

The sexy woman teased him, dangling food over his mouth and making him bite at it. Between bites, she would kiss him, keeping his blood boiling by teasing his tongue with her and rubbing her beautiful boobies into his chest. As he got closer and closer to being full, his interest in food waned, and his interest in her grew. Finally, pushing back from the table, Finn picked her up and carried her to the stairs.

Up in their bedroom, he threw his hot honey on the bed and started scrambling out of his clothes. Before flinging his shirt into the corner, he popped a breath mint and sucked on it while he wriggled out of his shoes and shorts. Simone typically discouraged him from getting in bed with his dirty socks on, but today his mind was on other things. Grinning like a fool, he climbed up on the bed, lay down beside his girl, and started caressing her hot body while he kissed those pale lips.

The handsome hero ran his hands all over her meaty ass, squeezing the round globes and stroking her soft skin. Her butt was a little bigger now after birthing Billy, and the skimpy panties she was wearing were even tighter than before. Simone did her share of touching too, running her hands all over his hard, muscular frame. Her big, _strong_ man was a delight to the senses. Soft sighs left her lips as she lost herself in the feel of her man's hands on her body. He caressed her big rack, feeling the hard nipples, reminding her of the way he liked to taste her mommy-milk.

"Oh, baby," breathed the beautiful woman. "You touch me so good." He _still_ touched her so good. After all the things they'd been through and all the hardships he'd suffered, he still loved her enough that he wanted her to feel good too. The handsome fellow kissed his way down her throat, feeling her heartbeat with his lips. His left hand teased her hot snatch through the soft silk of her panties. "Mmmm," moaned Simone as he teased her button. "Oh, yes... Yes, honey..." Her hand stroked his fat rod, and she could _feel_ the hot man-goo dribbling out of it. She wanted to suck him.

"Finn," moaned the beautiful woman. "I want to taste you, honey..." Her wish was his command. Finn got up and lay down again with his face down near her thighs. Tugging the crotch of her panties aside, he dove into her hot box. As he began licking her hot gash, Simone slurped on his rod, tasting his goo. She could suck hard enough to hurt sometimes. She never had trouble getting him off. Finn had trouble concentrating on what _he_ was doing as his lady went down on him. "Shit," he groaned, as a shiver of pleasure went through his body. "Like that, baby," she teased? "Ch'yeah," said Finn.

He knew how to get her back. As Simone went down on him again, Finn fastened his teeth around her button and sucked hard on it, causing her to shriek. Panting, the sexy she demanded, "enough of that! Get up here and give me that dick!" Grinning, Finn turned around and climbed up over his girl. Simone wrapped those long legs around his waist as he eased his rod into her steamy snatch. As he began to rail her, Finn pressed his nasty lips to hers and kissed his girl deep. As the two lovers found the rhythm, all thoughts of adventuring fled his mind as he thought, _fuck dungeon-bashing..._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The strangers didn't really look like the sorts who frequented libraries. There were four of them, and they looked like the rough sorts her sister hung with. Standing deep in the stacks, Charlie watched them as they scanned the room over and over again, looking for _something_. She wasn't sure just what it was, but she didn't think they had library cards either.

The one with the antlers seemed to be in charge. His long, narrow face reminded her of the mutant deer who sometimes came by her mother's house begging for food. The mutants weren't to be trusted, and they would gleefully turn you into food if you weren't careful. His pal looked like a why-wolf, with bluish fur and long, sharp teeth. His eyes were furtive, and he kept looking around him as if he was on the lookout for the Man. The third member of the quartet had a strange, oval face with grey skin and bug-eyes that seemed to be ready to pop out of his head. His sharp, needle-like teeth were bared in a perpetual grin, and his long, angular limbs seemed to move and bend in odd ways. The fourth man was the smallest, no bigger than Charlie herself. He had some sort of tablet in his hands, and he kept on scanning it. His body was stout, and his arms and legs stubby. His toad-like head had a broad mouth with ugly, froggy lips that he licked incessantly.

"Did you get the S's reorganized," drawled Turtle Princess? Charlie jumped in startlement. Her boss gave her a frown. "Not yet," said Charlie. Indicating the strangers, she asked, "do you know those guys?" Turtle Princess shrugged. Thousands of people used her library. It was the only library for hundreds of miles in any direction. "They look like trouble," said the shape-changer. Turtle Princess gave her a look that suggested she was daft. "I know your dad's a hero, dear," said the librarian, patiently, "but this is just a library. We don't have any treasures here."

It was clear that Turtle Princess didn't believe there was a problem. She was completely clueless, and honestly Charlie thought she spent way too much time reading trashy novels in her office. "Get the S's organized," said Turtle Princess. "I'll be in my office." Likely jerking off to 50 Shades of Purple or something. Charlie rolled her eyes as her boss headed for the back. An order was an order, though. Shaking her head, Charlie headed for the S's.

Over in the Candy Kingdom, Finn was hard at work when one of the guards announced Peebles' new 'Court Wizard'. Finn felt a shiver of fear at that news. He'd promised he'd have lunch with Huntress today, but he honestly wasn't looking forward to that. Her presence... did stuff to his head. His brain, never very sharp to begin with, turned to complete mush when she was around. He would find himself staring at her butt or her legs or that beautiful face. His only consolation was that everybody else was doing the same thing.

Today she was wearing shorts, in blue, over gray thigh-highs and purple flats. Over that, she wore a loose-fitting tan shirt–her signature colors. She'd been letting her _hair_ grow out, and it now hung down to her shoulders in a cascade of green. A corner of his mind noticed her hair had purple speckles and highlights that sparkled when they caught the light just so, and he almost didn't notice the deep emerald lipstick she wore.

Hips wiggle-waggling, the wood-nymph warrior strolled up to his desk and perched there on the edge, the same way she always did. With her so close, he made himself look her in the eyes. That was something he had trouble with. Simone sometimes used to tease him about looking at her knobs instead of her face.

Of course that was no help.

Huntress had done something with her eyes, daubing a strange purple-grey substance around her eyelids. That dash of color made her green peepers _pop_. _Keep it together, Finn,_ he told himself. He didn't dare go gawking at her. He was married. He told himself that every time he saw her, though after her antics the time they'd had lunch together, he'd ended up going into the bathroom and running off a job by hand for relief. "Sooo," said Finn. "How's your new place?" Huntress shrugged, "s'ok..." Smiling archly, she said, "you haven't come by." And he had no freakin' intention of coming by. Ever. "Yeah," said he. "Been busy. Billy. Simone. Work. That stuff..."

Simone had been getting a little stronger. She wasn't nearly as worn out when he got home now, and he'd been working Simone with his 'billy-club' on a fairly regular basis. That went a long way towards helping him keep his eyes–and hands–to himself. It didn't help him understand what was going on in his mind, though. He was having a lot of trouble with that. Bonnie thought he was naive. He'd believed that, well, you fell in love, got married, and that was that. Why would you want some other girl after that? Especially with who he had waiting on him at home.

"Can I buy you lunch,"asked Huntress? Finn frowned at her. "Uh...," said he, "I kind of shouldn't..." "Why," asked the wizard? She made it sound so cheery and natural. Finn felt like a jerk for even saying no. She was trying to be friendly. If he wasn't such a perve, he'd be eating lunch with her every day. He missed Jake, and he really had nobody else to talk to here. _Get it together, Finn,_ he told himself. _How long you going to play this game? You going to piss her off? You got to work with her!_ Finn told her, "wellll... You bought me lunch last time." "Fine," said she. "You can buy this time." Reaching down, she grabbed his arm, and hauled him to his feet. In just moments, he was following that wiggling butt down the hall to the door.

Out in the grasslands, Simone Mertens mopped at her brow as she swept the last of the crud out of the mudroom and into the yard. She'd been so wrapped up with Billy, that she'd been letting some of the housework slide lately. When you factored in her trips to the library for knowledge and all the reading she tried to get done when Billy was down for his nap, the house had been getting a little dirty. Finn was trying his best to help. On weekends, he was up at the crack of dawn chopping wood for their stove, and he was diligent about keeping up with his things so she wasn't burdened with extra cleaning.

As she stood there, she noticed a figure approaching from the east. Frowning, Simone found her hand reaching for the knife her hubby made for her. As much tool as weapon, it was a defense for somebody alone in the middle of the grasslands as she so often was. Fortunately she'd lost none of her skills with karate when the Ice-Tiara lost its grip on her. As she watched, the visitor grew closer and closer, and she began to notice things about him.

He was a big fella. He had powerful arms and legs–visible in spite of his attire. He came dressed in what appeared to be a space-suit, which seemed odd. Only a handful of people on Ooo should even know what a spacesuit looked like. As he grew closer still, she saw he was balding with a scruffy reddish brown beard. "Hello," called Simone. "Who are you?" The stranger answered by leering at her, announcing, "well aren't _you_ pretty?" Simone flushed. He reminded her of Ice-King. Just the look of him was a little icky.

"My son home," asked the stranger? The former sorceress frowned at him. She knew _of_ Finn's wretched father, but Finn had never described him. He hadn't really wanted to talk about this man. Now that Simone had gotten a look at him, she saw why. "He's working," replied Simone. "Come back later." Brushing past her, Martin replied, "I'll just wait inside." Muttering curses under her breath, Simone followed him into the house.

Finn was in a stellar mood as he came strolling up to the treehouse as the sun was setting. He had enjoyed lunch with Huntress without scoping her bod the whole time. They'd gotten friendly, and he was starting to think of her the same way he thought of Marceline–his pretty-but-cool bro. They'd gone out and had a grand time kicking the brooms out of the banana-guards' hands, and making them toe the line. Now Finn was looking forward to dinner with Simone and playing with Billy.

"I'm home," the hero announced, as he kicked off his shoes. "Up here," replied Simone. Eagerly, Finn raced up the stairs. He came out in the kitchen to find his dad there. He was just sitting there opposite Finn's wife. "Hey, kid," rumbled the villain. Simone gave Finn a nervous smile, announcing, "I'll get dinner started." Which said something about what had been going on. She hadn't felt comfortable working on dinner. Passing Billy to him, she moved to the kitchen and got to work. Finn sat down with his son on his lap.

"Cute little guy," rumbled Martin, "though it's kinda' creepy you namin' him after the fucker locked your old man up all those years..." Finn's eyes narrowed, but Martin was artfully oblivious. "Nice digs, kid," said he. "You must be doin' pretty good, kid." Every time he said that word, kid, Simone grimaced. He'd been using it all afternoon. Her husband was far more of a man than this loser ever would be. "What happened to the dog," asked Martin? "Thought he lived with you..." "Living with his girlfriend," replied Finn in even tones. "Ah," chuckled Martin. "You two got pussy-whipped."

Shaking his head, Martin proceeded to tell Finn all about what was wrong with women and why no real man would be caught dead tied down to just one. Finn went red in the face, and he was just seconds from belting him, when Martin abruptly changed the subject. "So whatcha' got goin'," asked the villainous older man? "Figure ya must be doin' ok to have digs like this."

"I work for Princess Bubblegum," replied Finn. "I"m Captain of the Guard." Which Martin had more or less heard already. He just wanted to see if it was true. "She pretty as they say," asked Martin? Finn glanced away. He wasn't going there. "Aw c'mon, kid," said Martin. "Don't tell me she's got your dick on lock-down already!" Simone turned around with a knife in her hands, and Finn found himself silently urging her to use it. He would have found it very satisfying to help her stab his father to death.

Coolly, Finn replied, "real men don't need to go looking when they have all they need at home." "Keep tellin' yourself that, kid," laughed Martin. "They even have the pill on this backwater anymore? Betcha' when she's got another one in the pipe, you won't get laid for _months_. You'll be wishin' for some free pussy."

Changing the subject, Finn asked, "what brings you here?" "Well, you pointed out that we ain't spent a lot of time together," said Martin. "It was kind of fun the last time..." "You mean when you almost blew up that village with that smashed up space-ship," demanded Finn? Blushing, Martin nonetheless chuckled. He was just as heartless as Finn had thought him to be. He thought it was funny! Everyone could have died there! Part of him would gladly have stabbed the fat bastard to death! "No harm done, right," said Martin? "You stopped the reactor from goin' critical, so everybody came out ok!"

Of course, Finn had been on Bonnie's radiation curative for a year after that. Just in case. He'd come out of that ship with burns all over his arms and legs. His desire to belt the older man was growing by the minute. Grinning, Martin admitted, "mostly here on business, kid. I'll be around for a few weeks. Got to get back home to my customers." The creatures who paid him to steal and be a general asshole.

Leaning forward, the older man said, "you're pretty good as a fighter, kid. Whyn't you come with your old man?! You could make a bundle..." "I don't need money," replied the Hero. Martin snorted, "who doesn't need money?!" Steepling his fingers in front of him, Martin said, "humans left this place behind for the mutants and freaks t'have, Finny, my boy. There's tens of thousands of us out there right now, livin' the good life. Earth's done, kiddo. Let the freaks have it..."

Glancing over his shoulder, Martin added, "no offense, sweetheart..." "I'm human," muttered Simone. "Probably more human than _you_." The rogue looked her up and down with renewed interest. "Mmm, mmm, mmm," said he. "Good taste, Finny, my boy." Turning to face his son, he said, "suppose you want to take care o'the old ball-and-chain there and that kid... What does that little candy-woman give you? Just enough to get by? You could shower the little lady here with jewels that you took with your own hand..."

"Dinner's served," announced Simone. She put the pot down between her husband and his psychopath father. Heading back to the kitchen, she grabbed bowls and silverware, coming back to lay those out too. Then she sat down beside her husband. Neither of them looked at all friendly.

Seemingly oblivious, Martin continued to expound on all the riches he had access to and all the fun they could be having out there in the great big universe. They could live on a spaceship. No chopping wood. No cutting grass. No hunting up food. Just press a button on a food-processor, and dinner was served. There were human women for their son to date when he got to that age and plenty of freaks if that was what he was into. Stoically Finn listened to all of it, waiting for the chance to throw his dad out the door. Finally, as Simone took the dishes away, he had his chance.

"Why don't we let Simone alone," said Finn. Rising to his feet, he went and put Billy in his crib in the living room. Beckoning his dad, he headed for the stairs. Martin knew his son was up to something. Rising, he gave the woman at the sink a smile and a wink and followed his son down to the door.

As Finn shut the door, Martin announced, "kinda' old for you, idn't she?" At his son's furious look, the rogue said, "I'm just teasin', kid. She's got big, _juicy_ knockers! I wouldn't mind hittin' that myself!" Which did little to mollify Finn. "What do you want, dad," growled Finn? "Really." With a smirk, the older man replied, "thought I'd offer you a chance to make some real money, kid. There's a job needs doing here. I was scouting for it last time, but, well, I had that little accident..." "I don't want your stinking job," retorted Finn. "I just want you gone. Ooo's under _my_ protection..." "'zat so," rumbled Martin. Finn nodded.

The older man got in his face and said, "I'm gonna' get what I want, kid. Nothin' you got can stop me. I'll say this, though. It'd be a shame if somethin' happened to your pretty little angel... You know... she sort of stays here all by herself... Somebody might see if that _prize_ piece of ass is as good as it looks or maybe cut that lily-white throat." As Finn stood there staring in shock, Martin tousled his hair, then turned and walked away.

A terrified Finn rushed back into his house, finding Simone at the open window looking out. She turned to find her husband standing at the top of the stairs, looking breathless. "I'm fine," she asserted. "He... said...," babbled Finn. "I _heard_ what he said," retorted Simone. "I'm not afraid of that fat blowhard." Striding over to her husband, she said, "we're not going to live in fear of that fat asshole. Clear?" Reluctantly, Finn nodded.

Finn's phone rang just then. Rushing to his backpack, he dug out his official phone. Huntress's voice came through the speaker. "Bonnie needs us," announced the wizard. "Trouble at the library." Simone motioned for him to go. Reluctantly Finn promised he'd be right there. When he'd hung up, Simone told him, "we'll be fine, honey." "But you're not Ice-Queen anymore," sighed Finn. Stroking his face, she said, "I'm better than that freak. I'm Simone. Now scoot."

**So, I decided to make Martin eviler (tm). For somebody who was banished to the Crystal Prison for 'Cosmic Crimes' he was kind of lame in the show, so I decided to amp him up a bit.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

The library–the familiar place where Finn had fought mold-creatures to protect the books–wasn't the same anymore. The place looked like it had been dropped in the Night-O-Sphere. Scattered corpses of patrons showed signs of torture, and books had been scattered across the floor, ending up in piles and stacks. Blood had been liberally splashed on walls, ceiling, and floor until the place looked like a meat market. Finn kept his blade at the ready as he and Huntress made their way through the chaos.

Finn's eyes showed he was in a bad place right now. His memories of all the happy times he'd spent here were being overwhelmed by bad memories of cruelty and devastation. Huntress, who'd already taken this awful journey years ago, found herself wanting to shelter him from the ugliness that surrounded them. At the same time, she admired the strength and courage he showed as he checked every body they came across, even when they were clearly dead.

As they were clearing one of the aisles, Finn stepped on one of the books strewn across the floor and got an 'ow'. Finn stepped back and scanned the area for the source of the noise. Suddenly one of the 'books' transformed into his niece. "Charlie," howled Finn?! The shapechanger threw herself on her uncle and hugged him tight. Finn blew out a relieved breath. He vaguely remembered Charlie worked here, but he'd been so focused on everything else that it had slipped his mind.

Stepping forward, Huntress demanded, "what's been going on? Did you _see_ anything?" At first Jake's daughter was a little frightened by the hostile wizard. Finn's reassuring smile helped calm her, and she was able to answer. She told of the strangers in the library and how she'd tried to warn her boss about them. She told of watching them prowl around the stacks, digging into this and that. They'd been looking for something, but it wasn't something that was available in the open stacks.

That news made Finn very uncomfortable. His dad was here looking for something. Was this related to his father? Had Martin decided to raid the library for something he needed? "Do you know what it was," asked Huntress? Finn snapped out of his daze and focused on the answers to her questions. Charlie told them, "I don't know, but they started hurting people to find out. They... they made Turtle Princess take them downstairs to where the old scrolls are stored."

Turtle Princess had once told Finn that there were some secret books down in the basement. Now he knew where they needed to look. "Get outside, Charlie," said Finn. "Don't hang around. It's... We'll take care of this." The shapechanger headed for the door, while Finn led his partner over to the basement stairs. Arriving at the door, he was astonished to find that the solid steel bulkhead that kept the curious at bay was melted. There was a big chunk gone from the middle of it, and a puddle of jagged metal slag on the floor.

"What the hell did _that_," asked the wizard? Finn didn't know, and he was afraid they might find out all too soon. In the now, he stepped through the jagged hole and down onto the basement stairs. Reaching out, and taking his partner by the waist, he helped Huntress through. She was still wearing the shorts and tee-shirt from earlier, and he couldn't help but notice the feel of her soft skin and hard, flat tummy. She had some kind of perfume on, and, as he set her on her feet, he breathed deeply of it, finding it intoxicating. Turning away in haste, Finn missed the blush that came to her features.

Huntress whispered a word of power, and a glowing ball of light flickered to life beside her. "Not bad," said Finn, as she sent it bobbing down the stairs. "You know," said she, "you could probably do it too..." Finn frowned at her. "You'd need an Instrument," she said. "You're too weak for it to even be noticeable otherwise..." Finn remembered the magic rings that Betty and Simon now sported. "Nah, man," said he. "Last time I tried that, some old dude tried to make me spend my life blocking a meteor." "Suit yourself, donk," muttered the wizard, as she started down the stairs.

He wasn't sure what put her in a snit like that, but he hustled to follow her as she went clambering down the stairs, dodging scabs of once-molten metal that decorated the stairs in places. She was kind of a prickly little witch on the best days, and he was never entirely sure where he stood with her. He'd gotten called 'donk' a lot the last week or so. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, he said, "look... I'm... I got a wife and kid... I can't just go run off to learn t'be a..." She shushed him. They might be about to run into trouble.

There was a light on up ahead. Finn immediately moved forward, pushing her aside. She almost cussed him, even though she knew exactly why he did that. He was _always_ doing that. It was the kind of old-fashioned display that she'd always laughed at–and exploited. The White-Knight, just trying to protect the fair maiden. Even when the fair-maiden could slag him without breaking a sweat. _So what do you want to be,_ wondered the beautiful woman. _Rich and powerful or happy and sometimes hungry._ She was having trouble deciding. Just now, she purely didn't have the time.

They came to the bottom of the stairs and found themselves in a long, narrow hallway. On either side, heavy steel doors hung against the wall. Covered in filth and debris, they suggested that Turtle Princess never came down here. A part of Huntress wondered what sorts of secrets hid down here in the darkness–and how much those secrets were worth. Another piece of her thought that maybe they were better off not knowing. Near the middle, one of the doors hung open, and there was a light coming out of it.

Finn drew steel. He drew steel and began slowly creeping down that hall. With his free hand, he readied his little hand-crossbow. Huntress grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. If the little idiot was going to go in that door, he should probably have something more effective than a piece of sharpened wood. Reaching into the quiver at her back, the wizard drew one of her precious spell-arrows and handed it to him. Immediately realizing what she was offering, Finn replaced the arrow on his bow with that one. Weapon ready, he set off down the hall once more.

As they neared the doorway, Finn got slower and slower, stepping carefully to avoid making a noise. Huntress echoed him, readying a second spell-arrow and a lightning bolt too. As they reached the door, Finn turned and darted inside. Huntress darted in after him. The room beyond was small and had never held very much. A single cabinet stood in the back, with the drawers torn open and ransacked. Before the cabinet lay Turtle Princess. She was dead. Angry, Finn punched the cabinet hard enough that he had to have hurt his hand, and he would have kept on punching it if Huntress hadn't grabbed him, spun him around, and hugged him. The Hero of Ooo lost it, crying into her shoulder for a good two minutes, while she did her best to do something she'd never been good at–offering comfort to somebody else.

Drawing back, Finn wiped at his face. He put his sword away and tried to hand her back the arrow. "Keep it, donk," she muttered. "I've got plenty." Finn put the arrow back in his bow and slung it over his back. Then he bent and picked up the ice-cold corpse of his friend from the floor. Huntress didn't even know this creature but she _felt_ the pain. She felt it because _he_ felt it. As they walked back in the direction they'd come from, Finn said, "I'm sorry for what I said earlier... I didn't mean to hurt your feelings... I... it's... I'd have to leave my family, and I can't do that right now." "S'ok, donk," said Huntress in a cheerful voice. "Your loss."

Outside, they found their employer waiting with a hundred Banana Guards. Bonnibel Bubblegum was pacing in worry over what was going on inside the library. She'd heard... _things_–news that terrified her. Now she had someone who had been inside and could finally give her answers. "Twenty dead," announced Finn as he strolled up. "How's Charlie?" "She's fine, Finn," replied Bonnie. Her eyes were on her colleague. It was unheard of for a princess of Ooo to be murdered this way. Even more worrisome were the signs of torture and the gaping black hole through Turtle Princess's middle. These weren't your run-of-the-mill thugs.

Detailing twenty of her guards to carry Turtle Princess back to her people, Bonnie beckoned for her champion and court-wizard to accompany her. They moved away from all the onlookers and out of earshot. When she was sure no-one could hear, the Princess asked, "what did you see?" "They took documents," reported Huntress. "They made the librarian open a vault in the basement. It's the only one of the six down there that's open, so I don't think it was a random theft."

Frowning, Bonnie asked, "do we know _who_?" There _were_ things in the library that were valuable, but only to someone who knew what he was looking at. Bonnie knew because she had seen some of the things in Turtle Princess's collection. The average person would have had no idea what he or she was even looking at. They wouldn't really even have known what was stored down in the basement. With a heavy sigh, Finn said, "it's my dad, PB. I'm sure of it." Both women stared at him. Huntress hadn't even known he _had_ a father. _Her_ dad was some nameless tool her mother ensnared. She'd never met him.

Bonnie was focused on the words. "How do you know," asked the Princess? An unhappy Finn replied, "he was at my house, PB. He said he was here looking for something." "But how do you know he's part of this," asked the candy monarch? With a sigh, Finn explained, "he threatened me, PB. Said I better not get in his way or he'd hurt Simone." That _was_ ominous, but it didn't prove anything. "We'll be on watch, Finn," sighed Princess Bubblegum. Right now she wanted to go inside and look at the vault. That would help her understand who these people were and what they were doing.

Finn watched as Peebles went into the library alone. As he watched her walk away, Huntress watched _him_. It was another small pebble of knowledge. She didn't know much about Finn the Human. She hadn't really been interested in knowing him. Honestly, when she admitted it to herself, she had no friends and no attachments because getting to know people was too risky for a mercenary. She was surprised to find that the last human wasn't really the last human. Well, he had stopped being the last human when the Ice-King conjured his little honey, but that was a little different.

"What else did he say," asked the wizard? It was out of the blue, and Finn's head snapped around to her. It was curiosity more than anything. Honestly, she thought Finn was right. His donkus of a dad was deep down in something really nasty, and he'd stopped off at the local po-po to let him know to stay clear of it.

But she was curious.

Huntress wanted to know what made Finn the Human the man he was. It was leverage. It was power. It was all the things she had always striven to gain over people she dealt with. And something else... It was understanding.

"Said he was here working for somebody," admitted Finn. "Said they were paying him to bring something back from Ooo?" "Back," she asked? "Back to where?" Finn glanced up. "There's...," rumbled Finn. "There's humans out there. Like me. He says they left Ooo after the Mushroom War. He says there's thousands of us out there. He wanted me to come with him." "Why didn't you," asked Huntress? There was a note of fear in her voice, but he missed it. "This is my home," murmured Finn. "Nobody came looking for me when that jerkwad dumped me in the forest, so fuck 'em." It was uncharacteristically nasty language from the boy-hero, telling Huntress he had absolutely no interest in ever going back to the stars.

Relieved, Huntress said, "I'll walk you home, hero." At his suspicious glance, she added, "just to be safe. He might decide just to take you out." Finn nodded. He would have to be a lot more careful now. "Thanks, man," said the hero, as he set out. Huntress fell in at his side as silence enveloped them again. As they walked, the wizard found herself a little cold, and she chafed at her arms, trying to warm them a little. Finn glanced over at her in puzzlement. "Cold," he asked? Staring straight ahead, she nodded. "What happened to your cloak," asked the hero? "Thought it was warming up," replied the wood-nymph. It was a well-rehearsed lie. She'd put on something she thought was attractive–something different.

Taking off his jacket, Finn draped it over her shoulders, the chivalrous little donk. She found her face growing hot. As they walked, she watched him out the corner of her eye. "Bet you were scared when he threatened your honey, huh," she asked? Finn rumbled, "I don't wanna' talk about that jerkwad." Shaking off his mood, he asked, "what's Bonnie got you doing?" The wizard rolled her eyes, which told him that it wasn't anything pleasant. "She wants to figure out what makes you guys work," chuckled Finn. Which Huntress already knew. It annoyed her. The constant questions and the suggestions that she was 'messing up science' made the wizard want to belt that bitch. "She totes does that to everybody," chuckled Finn. "I just roll with it."

Grinning, he told her about the time Bonnie strapped him with all kinds of wires and showed him pictures of bikini babes. He'd been thirteen at the time and every kind of awkward. Huntress's jaw came open, and she _stared_ at him. That bitch had basically tried to turn a kid on so she could measure the response?! If he was oblivious, he'd kind of been desensitizied. As they came within sight of the treehouse, Huntress said, "she'll probably need us tomorrow. We should start figuring out what we're going to do." Finn agreed. Taking his jacket back, he gave her a fist-pound and headed off to his home, leaving her there staring after him. Shaking her head at the antics of Bonnibel Bubblegum, the wizard got on her way.

A bright orange glow at the top of the stairs announced Phoebe was present when Finn came through the door. "Who's there," asked Simone? "Me, babe," replied Finn. "I just got back." Finn quickly got his slippers on and headed upstairs. Arriving in the kitchen, he swept up his wife of just two months and twirled her around, kissing her thoroughly. Only when they broke the kiss did he realize that Marcy was there with Phoebe.

"Hey, guys," said Finn. Rolling her eyes, Simone said, "Phoebe called not long after you left. When she heard about your father, she came right over." She'd brought Marceline with her. "So what's happening, weenie," asked the vampire? Sitting down in the breakfast nook with his bro, Finn said, "my dad's here raising hell again. Some guys raided the library and stole some stuff. I think he's behind it." He left out the part about Turtle Princess. He didn't want them to worry anymore than they already were.

On her side, Marceline's keen nose had picked up something that concerned her. Perfume. Finn smelled like perfume. That was a little worrisome. _The little weenie can't be playing around already,_ thought Marcy? An oblivious Finn told of having to search the library for the culprits. "They were already gone when we got there," said he. "Anyone hurt," asked Simone? "Some, yeah," said Finn. "Listen, babe... I was thinking..." "We can't afford it, Finn," interrupted Simone. "You're not a rich adventurer anymore, and we've blown a lot of our savings. We can't afford another indefinite stay in a hotel." Finn nodded, but he didn't seem happy. Softening the blow a little, she reminded him, "he could just as easily try in town, honey. Better to be prepared."

Phoebe sighed, looking just as unhappy as Finn. She'd already had this conversation. She'd been having it when Marceline arrived. Simone was, quite likely, her closest friend in the world, and she couldn't bear the thought of losing her. She'd offered to put Simone and Billy up in the Fire Kingdom for a while, but Simone was rather insistent on staying right here. "Well," said Marceline. "Seeing as how you're back, I think I'll take off." Finn thanked her for stopping by. "Don't be rude, Finn," said Simone. "Walk Marcy to the door! Your dad's not going to suddenly teleport into the house and snatch us!" Blushing, Finn got up and followed Marcy down the stairs.

The minute Finn opened the door for her, Marceline grabbed him by his collar and dragged him outside. Shoving him up against wall, she hissed, "alright, Finn! Where were you at?!" "At the library," retorted Finn! "What gives?!" "I smelled perfume on you," growled the vampire! Puzzled, Finn sniffed the air around his own body. "Oh," said he. "Must be Huntress. I loaned her my jacket." Marceline gave him a suspicious look. With a sigh, Finn said, "Turtle Princess... is dead, Marcy. We found her down in the basement of the library. They... They killed her." Marceline dropped him. Face showing her shock, she said, "the last time one of Ooo's Royals was killed was back before you were born... when Billy killed the Fire Count. The last time a princess died was... more than a century ago."

Finn sighed, heavily, and she could tell this was killing him. "I'm sorry, Finn," sighed Marceline. Reaching out, she hugged him. Now she understood why he was so worried, and she wanted to smack Simone _herself_! This wasn't the time to be stubborn! "I'll stop by," sighed Marceline. "Maybe... maybe I can convince the hothead to stop by too." Finn nodded. Coolly, Marceline said, "you be careful around the wizard-weenie. I don't trust her." Finn nodded, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. Hugging him again, Marceline floated off into the darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

It was a pretty typical day in the Candy Kingdom. The candy people were out and about doing whatever they did as Finn and his wife approached the gates. After much argument–and a little shouting from Phoebe–Simone had agreed to go into town with him in the mornings and hang out at Cinnamon Bun's old place while he worked. That let her keep her independence while keeping her and Billy safe. In the evenings, they gathered and headed home.

It was a routine that left Simone crabby and prickly, but Finn had been working on that. Today he planned on having her come down to the office for lunch. They hadn't gotten much 'couple-time' for a while–another reason to smash his dad next time they met. Arriving at the gates, Finn turned to his wife and kissed her, offering, "sorry I was a jerk-face last night..." Blushing, Simone sighed, "it wasn't _you_, Finn. It was me. I... haven't been much of a wife lately..." Finn refuted that with, "heck no! You're the greatest!" And he heaped praise on her.

"Nevertheless, my boy, I've been kind of a jerk too," interrupted Simone. "And all because you try to look after me..." Impulsively, Simone hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Tomorrow's Saturday," said she, "we're going to sleep in..." Blushing, Finn gave her a face-splitting grin. Hips wiggle-waggling, the former sorceress went strolling off into town. Finn watched that butt until it went jiggling around the corner, smiling the whole time. Simone had confessed to sometimes doing that on purpose. Finn couldn't tell the difference. He only knew it gave him a boner almost every time.

"Well don't you two look happy," announced Huntress. The wizard was behind him, and he had no idea how long she'd been there. The only thing that was certain was the massive amount of prickly he'd gotten from her all week. There were moments where she was so sweet that he almost liked her more than Simone. Other moments he would have tied her up and dropped her down a well. It was almost like she had that multiple personalities thing that Bonnie mentioned when they talked about Sweet P.

He'd kind of gotten so he could figure out which Huntress he was dealing with just by the way she dressed. Sexy Huntress wore shorts and sexy dresses, and she was friendly, funny, and almost kind. Almost. Evil-Wizard Huntress wore a hooded cloak and a mask and had pulled a knife on him earlier in the week. He was never sure which one he'd get on any day of the week, but, as luck would have it, Sexy Huntress most often appeared when he was mad at Simone. It was _really annoying_.

Today he wasn't sure which it was. As he turned to face her, hands jammed into his pockets to hide his Simone-boner, the wizard came strolling towards him. Today she wore pants in tan leather and a bodice in purple over her usual boots. Difference was that the bodice left her shoulders bare and showed skin down to the tops of her boobies. And her pants were so tight he was almost sure he could see her snatch. Her lips were curled in a frown, but they were smeared with emerald lip gloss. Her appearance did nothing to help his boner problem.

"Uh, hey, Huntress," stammered Finn with a blush. "Good morning to you, too, donk," she retorted. Striding past him, the wood-nymph wizard announced, "Bonnie wants us..." Which explained why she was waiting on him. "She say what for," asked Finn as he fell in beside the wizard? "Nope," replied the prickly wizard. She was in full-on prickly mode today, and he had no idea why. The day had just started.

The hero did his best not to annoy the wizard as they took the walk across town to the palace. He talked about the weather. He talked about hobbies–really anything to keep her from taking his head off. It was crazy. Here was this beautiful girl with a body to die for at his side. He'd fantasized about railing the shit out of her, and she was right there beside him. And she absolutely hated his guts. At least it seemed that way. Not that Finn _wanted_ to screw her.

_Well, if I wasn't_ married_ I suppose I'd want to screw her,_ thought Finn. It was sort of like Marcy and Bonnie. The reality was that he knew he'd never get the chance, and that seemed to make it so much more exciting. But Huntress hated him for some reason, and he thought that he probably ought to find out why at some point. _Later, man,_ he thought, as the palace came into view.

The guards sent them inside straight-away, and Peppermint Butler immediately escorted them to Princess Bubblegum's office. They found the candy-monarch sitting at a desk surrounded by papers and handwritten notes along with piles of dusty old books. Finn's nose wrinkled just at the sight. A few hours–or even minutes–of all that filth, and he'd be sneezing like mad! "Hey, P-Bubs," said Finn. "Whassup?"

She held up a hand for him to wait, and Huntress rolled her eyes. They'd rushed across town so they could wait for her to say what was on her mind. "Here it is," sighed Bonnie. She put a sheet of notes on the desk in front of them. It was written in her cramped 'science' style instead of her usually flowery script. This was business–very serious business, judging by her expression.

Finn took the page and did his best to read, but he couldn't make heads or tails of what she was trying to say. It involved the Mushroom War and some ancient scrolls, but he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what was what. He passed the scroll to Huntress without comment, hoping neither noticed how clueless he was.

Huntress also read the page. Judging by the way her eyes scanned back and forth, the way she began to clutch that sheet of paper, and the occasional gasp she got a lot more out of the document than Finn had. "So, PB," said Finn. "What we dealing with?"

"They're after the Devourer, Finn," sighed Bonnie. Which he wasn't really familiar with. "The ancient humans called it the Midgard Serpent," said the Princess. "Ancient Norse legends claimed there was a giant snake wrapped around the middle of the world. The legend was disregarded back before the Mushroom War as being just unsciency hokum..." "But you think it exists," rumbled Huntress. "I'm sure of it," sighed Bonnie.

Peebles sounded very worried, and anything that worried her had Finn doubly worried. Now he wanted to get to the bottom of this. His dad was tied up in this somehow, so that made it certain that these guys were going to do whatever it took to nab this 'Devourer'. Bonnie got up and went to the monitor in the corner. Clicking the remote, she said, "there are things on Ooo that predate even the time of Science before the Mushroom Wars, Finn. The Ice-Crown is one such thing." Finn's jaw came open. He hadn't known that.

"You never wondered why Simon's own crown controlled _him_ instead of the other way around," sighed the Princess. "It's because the Crown was far older. It may actually be millions of years old." Finn's jaw dropped again. Bonnie had more news for him. "The Devourer may actually be a real creature that dates back to a similar time, Finn," she explained. "Sooo," said Huntress. "What's this...?" "I believe the Mushroom War was an attempt by creatures from another world to reach the Devourer," said Bonnie. "They sought to hatch the creature in nuclear fire by getting the nations of Earth to destroy each other." At Finn's thunderstruck expression, she said, "the Lich wasn't the only side-effect of the war, Finn... The Fire Kingdom exists in a molten chunk of Ooo that was devastated by the rain of bombs from the war. It's... a thin spot in the shell of Ooo." "And it's a place they can get at the Devourer," rumbled Huntress.

Finn grabbed a chair. He had to sit down! This was heavy, heavy stuff! There was a monster inside Ooo. A monster his dad wanted to set free. "But why," asked the hero? "I mean... It's hard enough controlling a horse or a cow! Heck, Lady can't even get Jake t'do dishes! What the fudge does my dad think he can do with a giant, world-smashing monster..." "If they can travel between worlds," said Bonnie, "they probably have the technology to control it, Finn. We've lost... too much on Ooo. I've spent the centuries of my life restoring some of the lost knowledge from before the Mushroom War, but even I don't have that kind of technology."

"We need to find these guys," growled Huntress. "We need to figure out where they're going." Gone was the hostile woman who seemed to bounce between flirty and angry. She was all business now. Finn nodded. Given what they'd done to try and get this monster before, he didn't think Ooo would survive a second attempt. Bonnie explained, "the scrolls from Turtle Princess's vault hold the key, Finn. If they can translate them, it might help them find a way to reach the Devourer." "Do we know what language they were written in," asked Huntress? "A particularly ancient version of the lost Swedish language," replied Bonnibel. "There's probably only four or five people on Ooo who still understand it." "Name names, PB," growled Finn, as he got to his feet. "The Duchess of Nuts is one," said the Princess. "Simon and Betty are number two and three. I'm one. Turtle Princess was another..."

Finn felt a shiver of fear. They could already have gotten what they needed! "I doubt it," said Bonnie. "Turtle Princess's Swedish wasn't that good. It may be why they shot her." "Get us a list," said Huntress decisively, "and go into hiding. If they strike out, they might come here." Turning to Finn, she said, "c'mon, donk. We better get moving..." Finn bid Peebles farewell, then followed his partner back out the door. "Simon and Betty are in Wizard-City," said Huntress. "They're relatively safe. The Duchess of Nuts is another story." Her army wasn't very strong, and she was unlikely to even know these men were on their way.

The trip to the Duchy of Nuts was quiet. Huntress moved fast, and she kept moving fast, forcing Finn to keep up. It became something of a contest between them, with neither wanting to slow down or be seen as giving in. Impressed, Finn began to lose some of his irritation at her. Said he, "we better slow down. If they're there, we won't have the strength to fight 'em." Huntress rumbled, "giving up, donk?" "Being smart, donkette," retorted the hero. "We don't know how many of these guys there are. We need to be ready to fight them."

Huntress abruptly dropped to a walk. He was right, and she knew it. Besides, the ultra-tight pants she had on were chaffing her in the worst way. "Ok, donk," said she. "What's the plan?" "Can't be sure until we get there," puffed Finn. Standing there in the middle of the road, he said, "maybe hang back a bit until we see what's going on. If they're there, we move in and hit 'em from behind. If they're not, we can grab the Duchess and take her back to the Candy Kingdom." Huntress nodded. It was a fair approximation of a plan. She took the raw fragment of a plan and shaped it into something a little stronger.

"We'll go over the wall," said she. "That'll keep us from getting geeked in the entrance. We can drop in from the roof." Finn cheerfully accepted that plan as they started walking again. As they walked, Huntress asked, "so what's your dad like?" "He's a butt," muttered Finn. "I don't want to really talk about him..." Softly, the wizard murmured, "at least you know who he is. Some people don't even know who to hate." Finn's head whipped around as he realized she was talking about herself.

Softly Finn said, "maybe you're better off not knowing, Huntress." Her eyes flicked over to his, brimming with rage. Finn was staring into the distance as if at something only he could see. "I didn't know him until recently," said Finn. "I was a lot like you." Her voice caught in her throat, and she _stared_ at him. With a sigh, Finn admitted, "I... I had this idea in my head. That my dad was this great hero–rescuing damsels and savin' peeps from bad guys. I had it all in my head–how he was still out there somewhere. How I'd get famous and dad'd hear about it and come find me..."

He looked over at her with a bleak expression and said, "then Billy the Hero told me my dad was in the Crystal Prison, and I told myself he must be the prison warden or something... So I went there." As she listened in growing dismay, he explained how Prismo almost died helping him get to the prison. He told of finding his dad locked inside and of the Lich's effort to free the dark souls imprisoned there. "Lost my arm and nearly everything I cared about," sighed Finn. "So forget about what you don't have, Huntress. It may not be good for you anyway. Focus on what you've got..."

The wizard was spellbound. Here was this dimwitted _donk_, who seemed too clueless to even see what was right in front of him, and she could scarcely understand what she saw in him. And then he went and said something so profound it left her reeling. Emotions filled her heart, and there were so many things she would have said. Unfortunately they had already reached the Duchess's home.

The two crouched in the trees within sight of the Duchess's palatial home scoping the place out. It was eerily quiet, and Finn feared that the enemy had already been here. Huntress made him wait a bit just to see if there was anyone around. As seconds became minutes, Finn grew increasingly antsy. He didn't know much about the Duchess other than that she was a little weird... _Ok, a _lot _weird,_ thought Finn. Her husband had some strange pudding thing going on that annoyed the shit out of Peebles, but he didn't think either of them deserved to get whacked. "Quiet enough," said Huntress after five minutes of waiting and watching. "Let's make contact."

Finn drew a length of stout rope from his backpack. Climbing the thickest tree he could find, the hero anchored one end of the rope to one of his arrows and the other to the tree. By now, Huntress had also made the climb. "Hang on a second," murmured the wizard. As Finn watched, Huntress poured energy into the arrow. His eyes flicked to the glowing bracer on her arm, and he realized what she meant when she talked about him needing an instrument.

"So the bracer's the key to your powers," he observed. Her eyes flicked over to his, suggesting that maybe he didn't want to go there. "S'cool," said Finn. "Was just curious what you meant when you said instrument." "Lemme' guess," rumbled Huntress. "You thought I meant music or something." Finn blushed. He was a dummy. He never claimed otherwise. Returning to the previous thread, Huntress told him, "the magic's good for just one shot, hero. Make it count." "Ch'yeah," said Finn, as he slipped the arrow into his bow. Laying it on a tree-limb, he took careful aim at the roof of the castle and let fly.

As Huntress watched, the arrow flew unerringly across the distance, buoyed by the charm she'd put on it. With the charge on its tip, it buried itself in the stone wall to the fletchings. "Good, hero," rumbled Huntress approvingly. Now she brushed past him, tugged on the rope, and then began sliding down the rope to the window just below Finn's arrow. Finn was right on her heels. He couldn't really help being mesmerized by her butt as she sailed down the rope to the castle window. She was really pretty, and he couldn't help remembering Jake's words. Jake looked all the time. What was the harm in that? As long as he wasn't trying to bang the wizard-girl, it didn't hurt anybody.

Huntress kicked her feet out near the end and absorbed the impact with her legs. Finn was a beat late and almost piled into her. Fortunately, he woke up and slowed down in time. Huntress used magic to open the window from the outside, and then the two slipped into the castle together. Finn felt a chill go down his spine. The castle was as silent as an eerie old dungeon. Something was very wrong here. "Where," whispered Huntress? "Downstairs," replied Finn.

Taking the lead now, Finn went out into the hall and then down to the stairs. He tip-toed along, ears alive to the sounds of the house. The only thing that came back to him was the creaking of the floors and the rattling of a few windows from the wind. Step by step, Finn approached the stairs. At the top, he paused to listen again. Still nothing. Now he went down the stairs swiftly and quietly, careful of the creaking treads. Alighting on the ground floor, he peered around him. Lisby the Butler should be here somewhere. Why wasn't the creepy old butler jumping out at them?

"Just one place to look," said Finn as Huntress stepped off the stairs behind him. Nodding, she motioned for him to lead on. Finn stepped off, heading down the hall to the Duchess's parlor. They now began to see signs that something might have been wrong. There were things knocked over–vases shattered on the floor and paintings askew on the walls. The carpet was muddy, suggesting someone–or several someones–had come through with muddy shoes.

Finally, they came to the doors of the parlor. "On three," said Finn, and he began to count. When he reached three, the hero jerked the doors aside and darted through, sword at the ready. Huntress came in right behind him, stepping to his left, as she readied a spell-arrow. The two found themselves in a kicked-over nightmare of a room. The room had been torn apart, with papers scattered everywhere, furniture overturned, and three bodies laying on the floor. The Duchess herself was sitting in the same place where she'd cast her augury nearly ten years ago. He thought he could see the Duchess's head. She was sitting in front of the fire, just as she had been then, but her back was to Finn, so he couldn't tell if she was asleep or watching the fire.

Finn stepped towards her, walking around her big, padded chair. As Huntress scanned the scene for threats, Finn got a good look at the Duchess herself. The old nut-woman tied to the heavy padded chair, her eyes wide and staring, with a hole burned through the middle of her head.

Finn cringed at the sight of shells scattered all across the floor in front of her. The bowl she'd used for her augury was half-empty, the contents likely eaten in front of her and the shells thrown on the floor. His rage grew, and he found himself vowing to cut his father's balls off. He wanted the fat bastard to suffer. "Finn," murmured Huntress, as her hand grasped his shoulder. Finn glanced up to her face, finding a surprising amount of sympathy there. "We need to get back home," said the wizard. "Bonnie's gonna' need us."

Ahead of them, time had already run out on the Candy Kingdom. As Finn raced home, Simone was headed for Banana Guard headquarters when the machines dropped out of the sky. There were a dozen of them, and they landed among the candy houses with their fanciful decorations, disgorging dozens of heavily-armed aliens. The former sorceress had Billy in one hand and Finn's lunch in the other when the screaming started, and she did what any sensible mother would do faced with a sight like that. She ran. She ran like hell to find shelter as the aliens began blasting buildings and killing Candy-people.

The Banana Guards were on the scene in just minutes. They rushed inward from the walls or from the headquarters, wading in to fight the invaders. Unfortunately, the Guard had only fought a couple of weak opponents and managed to perform poorly at that anyway. Against the aliens, they didn't stand much of a chance. Those who weren't blasted asunder immediately were put to flight. Simone watched half a dozen drop their spears and go running up the street in a state of terror.

Finn had guessed that his father was going to do something awful. Now she had a front-row seat as the evil creatures went on a rampage. _Need to find somewhere safe to shelter,_ thought the young mother. Casting about her, she decided on the town jail. It was close by, and she didn't think they'd be coming there. Their target was the palace.

As she stepped out of the shadows of the doorway where she'd beenn hiding, she came face to face with two ugly, walrus-faced freaks who carried some sort of laser-gun and looked perfectly willing to use it. Both looked at her and immediately turned in her direction. "Hmmm, Balgos," growled the one on the left. "A human. I didn't think there were any on this world..." "Tasty too," rumbled Balgos. His gross, slimy tongue flicked out to lick his broken tusks.

Simone's heart was going a mile a minute as the two closed on her. She'd told Finn that she didn't need protection. She'd admonished him not to spend time worrying over her and the baby. Now it was time to put up or shut up.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

As the two walrus men approached, Simone checked the straps on Billy's harness. She would have preferred having him on her back for this, but she didn't think these guys were going to stop and let her shift her kid around. These nasty creatures were giving her the same sort of leer as Finn's father had, and she just knew what was on their minds. _Not going without a fight,_ thought the former wizard. Reaching into a pocket of her dress, she got a hand on the shuriken she'd made. They weren't as sharp or as accurate as her ice-shuriken, but they would work just fine.

The one on the left lowered his weapon. He was the one who was going to try and grab her. Simone hurled the throwing stars at the alien on the right, hitting him in the eyes and throat. As the second tried to raise his weapon again, Simone leaped at him, slamming her foot into his knee, then his crotch, and then, as he fell to his knees, she drove her heel into his larynx. As Billy giggled in excitement, the ugly alien crumpled, clutching at his throat. "You there," shouted a voice! Simone turned to find three more aliens leveling their weapons at her.

_This ain't good,_ thought the young mother. They were too far for her to rush, and she was out of stars. She could only think of one thing. Shield Billy with her body and try to run. The beautiful woman spun on her heel and ran in one smooth motion. The surprised aliens opened fire, but they were a beat late. Bolts of concentrated yellow light slammed into the walls and the ground around her as she ran for the nearest corner.

Over at the palace, the aliens had been closing fast on their objective, when the Gumball Guardians swung into action. Rising to their feet, the massive automatons opened fire with their powerful eye-beams, blasting the alien flying machines out of the sky. As Martin Mertens watched in rage, his precious flying craft crashed into buildings and into the ground short of the objective. He'd known this place might have defenses, but he hadn't believed they'd be quite this potent! He'd spent days watching the place, sneaking in to see how it was guarded, and he hadn't really been impressed. Now he realized he'd underestimated the bubblegum-woman. She really was as smart as they said she was.

Down below him, Bonnibel Bubblegum marshaled her forces, directing the fight against the invaders. She'd always feared this day was coming. She'd feared it since the day Billy the Hero threw a stranger into the Crystal Prison for crimes against the people of Ooo. Where there was one rogue, there was almost certainly more. Now a horde of those rogues, like barbarians of old, had come to smash her kingdom to the ground.

But Bonnie was prepared.

While the Gumball Guardians took out their flying artillery, Bonnie directed the firing of the heavy guns concealed inside the palace walls, breaking up concentrations of alien mercenaries and giving her people breathing room to run for the castle doors. Bonnie stood there now, beckoning her people and urging them to get inside where she could shelter them. The numbers weren't good right now. There were a lot of people unaccounted for–whole families in fact. She feared that many of her people were now dead, and she was terrified that Finn might be among them.

As she watched in shock and terror, one of her Guardians fell, toppling onto a nearby house as one of the alien ships smashed into it. Still, that was the last of the flying machines. They were down to the aliens' handheld firepower vs. her guns and the remaining Guardian. Unfortunately, that also took away some of the cover available to her people to rush to the gates of the palace. Taking up her Ball Blam Burglerber, the candy-monarch rushed out to save her folk. Leveling the gun at the aliens at her gate, Bonnie opened fire, blasting several into oblivion at one go. Dodging gunfire, the genius raced to a breach in the walls. Once there, she motioned the two families sheltering there to get inside. As they raced across the open courtyard, the Princess traded fire with the aliens, laying out several more.

For some reason, they weren't nearly as accurate as she was expecting. As she pumped out shot after shot, they never really seemed to get close to her. It was a puzzle, but she didn't have much time to work on it. Spotting Lollipop Girl in trouble, Bonnie raced down the length of the wall to rescue her. Two aliens had grabbed her by the arms and were bodily dragging her away. As Bonnie approached she could hear one suggesting they should fuck Lollipop Girl and then eat her afterwards. The Princess leveled a karate kick at the back of his knee, dropping him, and then clubbed him in the face with her gun.

The other one dropped Lollipop Girl's arm and leveled his gun at her. They were too close. She couldn't use the Ball Blam Burglerber without killing herself and Lollipop Girl too. Looking her dead in the eye, the alien hesitated. As the alien tried to decide what to do, Bonnie wracked her brain for a way out of this. Just then, an evil voice, dripping menace, chanted some kind of spell. A greenish glow suffused the alien, and he dropped stone dead at Bonnie's feet. "Mmm, _flesh_," howled Peppermint Butler! He rushed up and began gnawing on the dead alien's arm. Grabbing him by the arm, Bonnie ran for the castle gates, announcing, "we're gonna' talk about this later, Peps..." With Lollipop Girl in tow, the Princess ran back into the castle.

Out in the city, the aliens had Simone trapped. In her fear, she'd gone down a dead-end street and found herself surrounded by walls on all sides. "Shouldn'ta run, bitch," growled one of the aliens, as the three came up the street. "We just wanted ya's t'come along quiet. Now..." He licked his lips suggestively. The ugly, green-skinned creature reminded her of a fat bullfrog with jaggedy teeth and claws on the end of his webbed fingers. "Been a long time, since I had human," said the alien. "Got plump balloons, Fos," agreed a second.

Just then, furry yellow tendrils wrapped themselves around the three aliens and squeezed. The three of them fired wildly, and Simone threw herself on the ground, getting as flat as she could while the creatures jerked spastically as the tendrils squeezed all the life out of them. She got to watch the horrifying visage of the toad-alien as his eyes bugged out, looking like they'd pop out of his skull. Finally, his tongue lolled out, and his face went grey as he expired.

Jake the Mailman dropped the three aliens, huffing and puffing from the effort of squishing them. "Man," puffed Jake. "Those guys sure were tough..." Simone had never been happier to see anyone. Rushing up, she hugged the stuffing out of the stretchy dog. Blushing, Jake grinned at her, remarking, "hey, IQ... No problem..." Letting go of her brother-in-law, Simone straightened. Looking around her, she asked, "what do we do now? They seem to be everywhere..." Shaking off the naughty thoughts that had just flashed through his mind, Jake said, "we gotta' get to the palace! PB's got like dungeons under the castle we can hide in!"

The two set off at a run. They took the twists and turns on the streets, finding the place had settled into an eerie calm. The sounds of gunfire were gone. The sounds of the rushing alien craft buzzing the town were gone. They didn't even hear the sounds of the injured, though they did see dead people, including invaders, nearly everywhere. Simone was filled with a towering hatred of Finn's father. She'd wondered over the year she'd known her husband. She'd really wondered why he never talked of his father. Now she knew. She would have been ashamed to have Martin as part of her family too.

As they rounded a corner, they found themselves facing a strange dark-blue creature with many eyes. The pair skidded to a stop, and stood staring in fear at the creature. The menacing alien opened his mouth, showing an array of razor-sharp teeth, and licked its tongue around that ugly opening. Those eyes narrowed on Simone and Billy, and the creature almost seemed to laugh. Jake glanced over at his sister-in-law and his nephew, and he knew what he had to do.

"On three," said Jake. "You run that way, while I handle this guy. Get to the palace. Don't stop for nothin'!" Simone nodded her agreement. She didn't want to leave Finn's brother behind, but she had Billy to think of. This was bigger than her and what she would have done. Her baby was at risk here. As Jake started forward, Simone edged towards the cross-street. When Jake shouted for her to go, Simone ran. She didn't look back.

The young mother ran and ran. Her lungs began to burn, but she kept on running. Tears fell, as she thought of Jake losing his life. She'd been irritated with him a time or two because he just _refused_ to grow up, and he was holding Finn back from growing too. She'd loved him when he was being the big-brother that he was supposed to be, and she was saddened by the conflict in his home. Now she feared they'd lost him. What would she tell Lady? What would she tell Finn? She saw the castle walls ahead through a haze of tears. She didn't stop. She rushed right up to the walls.

And straight into the arms of the alien army.

Two aliens seized the hapless heroine, binding her hands, and dragging her to a small group of candy-citizens milling around near the main gates of the castle. Simone's eyes darted around her in terror. She'd run seemingly from the frying pan straight into the fire, and now she had nobody left to rescue her.

Bonnibel Bubblegum stared out at the milling crowd of helpless living shields in dismay. She had her Ball Blam Burglerber, cannon, and one Gumball Guardian left. She even had the unexpected addition of dark magic wielded by her erstwhile butler. That gave her the edge in firepower. The invaders only had handheld weapons, and their numbers had been drastically cut back. They had a bit of a stalemate. _If you don't count the hostages,_ thought the Princess.

The ringleader stepped out and announced, "yo, _princess_!" Bonnie stepped forward. For some reason they didn't want to hurt her. She could use that. Standing on the steps of her castle, she shouted back, "whaddya' want?! Ya, _butt_!" "Fair trade," growled Martin Mertens. "Hostages for you..." "No deal," shouted Bonnie! "I can clone them back to life!" To throw fuel on the fire, she added, "maybe I might just have my Guardian take out the pack of you. Nobody's going to be cloning _you_."

Martin Mertens muttered curses. He almost wanted to shoot his men himself! They had completely failed. They were supposed to hit the castle hard and fast, get in the door as soon as they could, and grab this bitch. Instead, they'd gotten wrapped up in raping and looting–doing all the shit he'd told them not to do. Capture first, then rape. He'd told them a hundred times. If he'd gotten all his force on the castle at one time, they could have taken out both those damned robots, and he wouldn't even be having this conversation. He almost shot the bitch himself. The only thing that stopped him was that he _needed_ her. He needed that brain of hers.

As he wracked his brain for a solution, motion out the corner of his eye drew his attention. He turned to find himself staring his son's little snow-bunny in the eye. She was dressed today in an ice-blue blouse over a midnight blue skirt, and she had that fucking brat hitched into a harness over those fantastic tits. As their eyes met, his soldier goosed that big, juicy ass, making her blush. "Figured we'd meet again," rumbled Martin. "Where's the boy?" Simone said nothing. Reaching out, he grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her to him. Simone hissed in pain, but said not a word. "Where's the kid," demanded Martin? She was tempted to spit in his face, but she knew better than to antagonize him. He had already threatened to hurt her.

Martin wasn't sure what tempted him more–bashing her face in or fucking the shit out of her to prove a point. As his anger simmered, an epiphany struck him. Grabbing her by the hair, he pulled her out in front of him, so the little piece of candy could get a good look. "Got somebody here, who might want to talk to you," growled Martin! "Whaddya' think, Princess?! Maybe I cornhole this bitch! Maybe I just put a hole through her and the little bastard both!"

Bonnie sighed heavily as she took in the ugliness of the choice she now had to make. She couldn't clone Simone. Try as she might, she hadn't been able to unlock human DNA. If she refused them, Simone and Billy would die. A part of her was comfortable with that. A part of her even _wanted_ it. If Simone was gone, Finn would be distraught, and there was nothing like feminine comfort to help a man heal from his wounds, emotional or otherwise. On the flipside, it sort of went against all she believed in to let an innocent die when she could prevent it.

On top of that, there was the larger issue of what these men's goal was. If she went with them, she could well become the instrument of Ooo's destruction. She'd be in their power, and she knew the power of coercion. That said nothing of all the people she'd lost today. If she acted now, she could save many of those lives, cloning them back to life to resume the lives that had been stolen from them. If she waited too long, there would be no hope. She refused to try the Decorpsinator Serum again. It was too hard to mix properly and too dangerous if she made a mistake. "Times running out," shouted Martin!

"Alright," shouted Bonnie! "I'll come out! We'll do a trade! First my people! Then Simone and Billy!" "No deal," shouted Martin! "I can just as easily kill you all," retorted the princess! Fair trade! Me for them!" The evil human seemed to think about that for a while. She had him there. With all his flyers gone, they'd be walking out of here, and they'd never be able to outrun the giant. With a growl of disgust, he ordered his men to free the captive candy-people.

As Bonnie watched, the pack of captive citizens came rushing across the square. She stepped aside and ushered them into the safety of the castle. Now all that was left was Simone and Billy. Her eyes flicked to the high tower where her two creations, Goliad and Stormo, had once fought their eternal battle, and she remembered how excited Finn had been about the prospect of having a son, and she honestly wished that she hadn't made the choices she'd made. Maybe there would be no Simone. Maybe Billy would be _her_ son. The temptation gripped her, and it maintained that grip as she slowly crossed the courtyard. Step by step, she crossed the space to where Finn's evil father stood holding Finn's wife hostage, while she fought a tumultuous internal struggle to just keep going. She'd never be able to face him if she let Simone die. That was the thought that kept her moving.

Stopping just out of reach of her adversary, Bonnie said, "alright. Let her go." The evil bastard stood there staring at her, and she could see the calculation in his eyes. A gesture from her caused the Gumball Guardian to swing its glowing eyes into line with the pack of them. If Simone died here, it would be by _Bonnie's_ hand, and Finn's family would die on a pyre built of Martin Merten's bones. With a growl of anger, the mercenary shoved the snow-bunny forward, telling her, "next time, sweet-cheeks." He grabbed Bonnie by her sticky hair and dragged her towards the town's gates.

The sun was well down in the sky by the time Finn and Huntress reached the Candy Kingdom once more. They'd taken the journey in stages, running flat out as long as they could until they just didn't have the juice anymore. Now, as Finn approached the walls, he could already see that the aliens had been here and gone. When he would have run off, Huntress stopped him, holding onto his collar with all her strength, as she shouted, "we can't help them if we get geeked rushing into a fight!"

Finn knew she was right, but his family was there! He'd insisted Simone come into town today! If he'd just left her at the treehouse...! Sensing what he was thinking, Huntress reminded him, "he could have just as easily killed them on his way to town, Finn. Be smart. If they're ok, they're ok. There's nothing you can accomplish by running in and getting shot. You might just make it worse." _That_ stopped him. He remembered his quest to find the cyclops, and the people he'd hurt in his anger along the way. "Circle to the west," said Finn. "The ground's higher there. We can get a better look." Huntress grimly nodded.

They slowly made their way west, trying to sneak peeks at the town without being seen by anybody on the walls. The look of the Candy Kingdom got no better. There were holes in the walls as big as a wagon, and there were no Banana Guards at all on duty. They weren't learning anything new, and finally Huntress decided that they'd scoped the place out enough. It was time to get busy. Readying her spell-arrows, she headed down the hill towards the city. Finn was hard on her heels.

They journeyed through streets that were littered with corpses. They passed buildings that had been wrecked, and they saw far more than they wanted to see. Even the hardened mercenary found the images around her too much to bear. Finn kept on walking with a single-minded dedication. He had to know. Even if it meant searching the entire city, he had to know if his family was ok.

Reaching the center of the city, they found the most devastation of all. One of the Gumball Guardians had toppled, its head shattered, and it now lay across several houses. Finn feared for the fates of those who'd been inside. Facing down his fear and anger, the young hero strode forward, walking into the hole in the castle's outer wall. There were fewer bodies here–at least fewer _whole_ ones. Mostly what they saw was scraps of flesh that had once been aliens. The Guardians and the castle's guns had reaped a toll on the invaders, shredding them by the dozen. It gave Finn hope that there were still people alive in here.

As the duo approached the castle's heavy, candy-steel door, Jake the Mailman came rushing out, shouting, "Finn! Boy am I glad t'see you, buddy!" The stretchy dog rushed up and grabbed Finn and shook him! "Wow, bro," howled Jake! "We thought they got you too!" "Nah, man," sighed Finn. "Peebles sent us up to the Duchess of Nuts' place... They... those guys got her and the Duke..." Shaking off his anguish, Finn said, "how're... How're the people? Is everybody ok?" Jake knew what he was really asking. "Simone n'Billy are inside, Finn," replied the dog. Setting Finn back on his feet, the stretchy dog went up the stairs. Finn and Huntress followed. No sooner had they walked inside, than Simone threw herself on her hubby and hugged him tight.

Blubbering and babbling like a child, the young mother cried all over him. Emeraude found herself tensing up, and her hand grasped the knife at her side. Part of her had been hoping for a different outcome. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help it. "I'll find Bonnie," grumbled the wizard. She couldn't take watching that.

Jake got in her way, and she glared at him. What the fuck did he want now? "Uh...," rumbled Jake. "We should pro'lly talk about that..." Huntress's frown deepened. "Hey, donk," muttered the wizard. "When you get through playing kissy-face... We need to talk to the dog." Simone almost jumped back from her husband. Her face was red hot. "I...," she started to say. Jake admonished her to not say anything. Instead, he beckoned for them to follow him to Bonnie's office behind the throne. With Simone at his side, Finn followed. Shaking her head and muttering curses, Huntress followed them.

Arriving in Bonnie's office, they found Peppermint Butler sitting in Bonnie's chair, monitoring the grounds around the castle. When he turned to face them, he had a strange glint in his eyes. Huntress recognized that glint. "You should probably let go, Peps," said she in a calm, soothing voice. He was full of the dark power of the Night-O-Sphere right now and very dangerous. Calmly, the wizard said, "we're back. We got this... It's all under control..." The dark magician slowly relaxed. Shaking himself, he said, "oh, Miss Huntress. Captain Finn... So good to see you."

His eyes were a little more clear now, and they got clearer by the moment as Huntress calmly suggested he go make tea or something. When the butler had gone, Jake murmured, "thanks... He was creepin' me out, man... He been kinda' strange since I got here." Finn turned to the wizard, who sighed, "he's a black magician. He's tapping the power of the Night-O-Sphere..." Finn's jaw dropped. He'd been right under their noses! "Wow," howled Jake! "Guess that 'splains why he knows Death!"

Changing the subject, Finn asked the burning question, "where's Peebles?" "She gave herself to them," sighed Simone. Finn whirled around. Face hot, Simone said, "I... got captured by them... I'm... You were right, Finn. I'm a fool. This wouldn't have happened..." Finn waved that away. "It's my dad that's responsible for this," muttered Finn the Human. "I'm gonna' kill him this time." By the tone of his voice, he meant it.

Moving on, Huntress said, "we need to get on their trail! If they've got Bonnie, they can get the Devourer!" "We can't leave this place a mess," muttered Finn. "The Candy-People fall apart when Bonnie's not here." Throwing up her hands, Huntress retorted, "she can straighten it out when she gets back." In her mind, they didn't have a choice. It didn't matter if they saved the city if they failed to save Ooo. "We can do _both_, Huntress," replied Finn. They would have to. They still lost if the Candy Kingdom went all to pieces. And besides, he had a plan.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Finn had grown as a person. It was amazing to Jake how much he'd changed. He took charge of things on the spot, handing out jobs to Bonnie's few remaining staff and organizing the cleanup. The guards got sent out to start collecting bodies before they could rot. That would help Bonnie clone them if she was of a mind to do that. Finn directed them in stacking the corpses inside any freezer they could find. While Finn got the guards organized and put the surviving staff to work, Huntress fumed. She wanted to be moving.

"We don't have _time_," muttered the wizard. Which Finn already knew. That meant they had to do it right the first time. They were up against guys with weapons from before the Mushroom War. If Bonnie was right, they had weapons that were even more powerful than anything that had ever existed on Ooo. Running into a fight with them was bound to fail. His logic, oddly enough, was unassailable. Knowing that much of her reasons for wanting to leave stood in the corner feeding a baby, Huntress shut up. Finn said, "we need somebody to run things–somebody familiar to everybody. We also need a team to go after these guys. And I need to get my hands on a weapon to fight with."

Turning to his brother, Finn said, "Jake, I need you to go out to Braco's place with Peppermint Butler and get P-Bot back." "Ok, Finn," said Jake. "But what're you doing?" With a sigh, Finn said, "need to go round up Banana-Man and then go to Wizard City..." "I'll go to Banana Man," announced Simone. At Finn's questioning look, she said, "you're needed here, honey, and our neighbor knows me..." "Ok," said Finn, "but take Huntress with you..." The beautiful woman kissed him and got on her way. An angry Huntress glared at him, but Finn stopped her with a hand to her shoulder, saying, "drop her at my place and bring Banana-Man to Wizard City. I'll meet you there." As the hostile wizard got on her way, Finn admonished her to be careful. Huntress cussed him and stormed out. "I better get goin' too," opined Jake.

Finn was left with the mess. The human hero went down to the dungeons, finding Bonnie's people in a state of panic, and many seemed close to the point where they might start exploding. The sight of him calmed them. Walking through the crowds of people packed down below in Bonnie's basement, Finn did his best to offer them comfort. He told them of Bonnie's plans to save their loved ones–anybody still out in the city. He told them that their beloved princess had gone to look at the damage and to try and shore up their defenses. He told them anything they wanted to hear. Mostly it worked. Only Lollipop Girl seemed to disbelieve him.

Cornering him near the entry to the dungeons, she whispered, "I saw her go off with those men..." She'd still been near the entry. "I rescued her," said Finn with a smile. "You're a terrible liar, Finn," retorted the pretty candy-person. Finn changed demeanor in a heartbeat. "Keep your voice down," growled the hero. "Things will be ok. Bonnie will be back in a few hours. Keep your mouth shut on what you saw, and everything will be ok." Nodding, she said, "alright. I guess you have a plan..." Nodding, Finn said, "I do, but I need everybody down here to stay calm. Bonnie will be back in a bit. I need you to keep a lid on things." "Alright," said the female. She gave Finn a peck on the cheek and returned to her friends.

Finn went back upstairs and went on a short inspection of the remaining defenses. The guns were loaded, and their crews were at their stations, frightened but ready. Finn offered them soothing words, telling them that they were doing great and promising to see them all get medals when Bonnie got back. Then he went down and got the few Banana Guards left in the palace organized, sending them out to collect the weapons the aliens had come with, whatever they could find. He had no idea how to use them, but the show of force might help, and they were a lot better than spears.

Finally, as the hero was pacing the courtyard, Jake returned, carrying Peppermint Butler and P-Bot on his back. The stretchy dog came straight up to Finn and deposited the ersatz Bubblegum in front of him. "Greetings, Finn the Human," said the robot in her mechanical voice. "Please speak the coded phrase." With a heavy sigh, Finn murmured, "science holds the key." The robot ruminated on that for a while. "Command acknowledged," said the robot. "Accessing Subroutine..." As Finn watched, a change came over the machine. "Thanks, Finn," said the robot. "I'll take it from here." She sounded just like Bonnie. The facial expressions, the mannerisms... It was all spot on. Turning to the butler, the robot said, "need clothes, Peps. Something to hide my arms..." "Of course," said Peppermint Butler. The robot headed off to take charge of the kingdom.

"Stay with her Jake," said Finn. "She's going to need somebody to run interference... If people know she's not really Bonnie..." Jake nodded. He'd seen a couple of Candy-People explode on the streets when the bad dudes showed up. With a sigh, Finn added, "Lollipop Girl knows PB got snatched. She promised to clam up, but..." Jake nodded, as he pushed Finn towards the gates. "Get goin', man," said he. "Get Peebles back..."

Miles away, Huntress followed the former Ice-Queen through the woods, bound for Banana-Man's house. She'd never met the genius, but she'd heard Finn talk about him a couple of times. According to Finn, he was probably the second-smartest person on Ooo, making him a valuable addition to their team. Unfortunately she was having trouble focusing. She was angry and hurting and angrier because she was hurting. This whole thing was going nowhere. Why _was_ she doing this?

As they approached banana-boy's house, voices ahead of them announced that somebody else might have gotten here ahead of them. Huntress stepped forward and stopped the white-haired witch. Holding a hand to her mouth, the wizard said, "stay here. I'm going to see who's there." As she went to step off, Simone said, "be careful..." Huntress felt a tinge of guilt. She was guilty of wishing this woman ill. With a grimace of distaste, she took out one of her spell-arrows and handed it across, saying, "use that if somebody spots you."

Without another word, the wizard slipped into the woods. This would have been a lot easier with Finn than without him. At least she would have had backup. Stepping carefully, she made her way around trees and through piles of leaves and debris, approaching what appeared to be a dome-shaped house in the middle of a clearing, next to a giant sinkhole. Metallic debris scattered about the area suggested that something catastrophic had once happened here. Hunks of ancient trash from before the Mushroom War lay scattered around.

Huntress approached the house using one of the broken relics for cover. Peering through the ancient vehicle's windows, she spotted what must have been their quarry getting hassled by a handful of aliens just like the guys who'd bagged Bubblegum. They had the little genius standing near the edge of the sinkhole, and they were clearly threatening him. Huntress did the calculations in her head. Finn thought they needed this guy, and she was starting to trust his instincts. Neither of them really knew anything about this Devourer nor anything they could use against the aliens for that matter. It was time to get her hands dirty.

Creeping along the side of the broken-down truck, the wizard readied a lightning bolt. That was pinpoint enough to take down the guy holding their genius. Just as she was about to step out, a voice from behind growled, "who the fuck are you?" Huntress glanced over her shoulder. There were two. Both had weapons leveled at her back. The wizard slowly raised her hands and stepped out. This was about to get really tight.

As Huntress was contemplating who to blast first, shards of jagged ice tore through the two behind her. As they screamed in abbreviated agony, Huntress focused a bolt of lightning on the walrus-faced donk holding her prize. He dropped, as Huntress rolled to her left. Banana-Man got small as the wizard torched off a spell-arrow, flattening two of them in one go. Return fire chewed up the side of the house. She could hear somebody kick in the door, and then heavy feet running through the house. They were sandwiching her. Each time she tried to poke her head out to take down the guy pinning her down, he lit up the house again. _Shit,_ thought the wizard. They sure didn't seem to run short on ammo!

As the second alien popped out of the front door, leveling his weapon, the first came around the corner. Just as Huntress was reconsidering her lifestyle, the guy at the door dropped his gun as jagged spikes of glacial ice pierced his skull from the inside. That horror gave his pal pause, and Huntress wasted him with a lightning bolt. Simone came out of the woods holding the now-drained spell arrow. "I told you to stay back," growled the wizard. "I needed to help," retorted the young mother as she strolled towards the wood-nymph. Just then, a final merc came out of the forest, leveling his weapon at the human woman. In that split second, Huntress lashed out, killing him stone dead.

Simone spun about. The young mother stared at the corpse a moment. Then she announced, "well... I guess we're even..." She strode past Huntress and up to Banana-Man, dropping the depleted arrow. Huntress felt a momentary thrill of anger. What had she just done? She could have won! She'd been within a hair of winning. "Simone," murmured Banana-Man as he climbed to his feet. "Finn needs your help," said the pretty mother. "He's waiting on you at Wizard City." Nodding at the corpse of his assailant, she explained, "these guys plan to do something that could destroy Ooo..." The genius's eyes went wide, as the former wizard explained, "they're from outer space. They've come here to release some kind of creature that's inside Ooo."

"Ok," said Banana-Man, "what can I do to help?" "You can start by telling us what _you_ know," rumbled Huntress. At his puzzled look, she said, "they were rousting you. You must have something they wanted." "My truck," said he, pointing to one of the heaps in the yard of the house. "Their machine crashed... over there." He cocked his head in the direction of the city. "They were hoping I had transportation," said the genius. "You got it running," asked Simone? She knew about his truck. He'd dropped by to borrow sugar and spent over an hour talking to Finn about it. With a smirk, he retorted, "did I get it running? Of course I did!" "Good," said Simone. "You can drop Billy and I off at the treehouse and take Huntress to Wizard City. Finn's probably going to need you to take him to the Fire Kingdom." The little genius deflated as he realized just what he'd talked himself into. Still, he was game. Their world was on the line, and he'd always wanted to see a spaceship.

Huntress found herself perched on an uncomfortable board seat–the best the genius had been able to cobble together in the time they had–as they went bouncing across the landscape on the truck's worn-out suspension. In the back, Banana-Man had stashed his tools and working gear for the trip to the Fire Kingdom. The wizard was a smoldering bundle of anger and guilt as she sat staring out the window while Simone cradled her child. She was depressed about her current situation, disgusted that she'd missed a vital opportunity, and angry at herself for even thinking that would have been ok. Having Simone there just made it worse. When the treehouse came into view, she was relieved.

Their driver jumped out, letting Simone scoot out the door. Giving him a peck on the cheek, Simone thanked Banana Man profusely, promising to bake him a cake for his birthday. Then, she went up to the treehouse while her neighbor watched. He insisted on making sure Simone got in the house and got the door locked up tight before he'd put the truck back in gear. Prickly as can be, Huntress came close to cussing him when he fumbled the gearshift and nearly stalled the engine. Finally, though, they were on their way, headed for Wizard City to rendezvous with Finn. Time was flying, and she couldn't help thinking that they were taking just too long. This was taking forever, and the aliens were in their spaceship flying across the sky to wherever the target was.

"They have to be careful too," said Banana-Man. Huntress glared at him, but he didn't take it back. "Spaceships have to be light as possible," said the genius. They're not built to float around on lava. It's a safe bet they'll have to find a safe place to land. Besides that, they're at risk of burning up too if they step outside in the Fire Kingdom." And he didn't doubt Bonnibel Bubblegum's ability to baffle them with science and slow them down. He thought Finn was right. Better to prepare for the fight of their lives and get there just in time than to rush in and get slaughtered.

They arrived at Wizard City just as Finn came jogging up. As Huntress and Banana-Man exited the truck, Finn dropped to a walk. "Hey, neighbor," announced Banana-Man! "Hey, bro," puffed Finn. It had been a long, exhausting day already, and he'd basically _run_ to Wizard City. As Huntress filled him in on what she'd encountered, the trio walked over to Wizard City's hidden entrance. "You got Bonnie's pass," asked Huntress? "He's got something better," announced Simon, as he and Betty stepped through the city's illusory wall. Finn had called ahead to Simon and Betty, and the duo had come out of the city to meet them. As Bonnie's official ambassadors, the duo had the right to bring others into the city in her name.

"Simone ok," asked Simon? "She was scared, but she n'Billy are fine," replied Finn. "The aliens are moving," growled Huntress. "Let's get at it." Without a further word, she stormed off. Simon nodded, "we can talk on the way. Betty secured an emergency appointment with the Grand Master." "Better stay with the truck," said Banana-Man. Finn and the others walked into the wall, disappearing from sight.

Wizard City was all stirred up as the quartet made their way through the streets. There were wizard-police on every corner, giving anyone they saw the eye, and there were wizards of all stripes rushing about like loons. _More looney than usual,_ thought Finn. Seeing where his eyes went, Simon said, "it's more stirred up now than when Bellanoche showed up. They're scared, Finn. That's a fact." "How'd they find out," asked the hero? Simon snorted, "you don't think Bonnibel's the only person with spies and agents everywhere, Finn?" Finn blushed. The Grand Master had known about Simone before he even showed up.

Betty asked, "is it true? Are there really aliens here?" Finn gave her a strange look. It seemed crazy to him that she could have crossed centuries of time to land here in Ooo, long after the Mushroom War, learned how to wield magic, and used a wish to restore her hubby to normal, then turn around and be surprised that there were aliens. "Yeah," said Finn. "There's even humans out there... somewhere. I guess... I guess that's where I'm from." Shaking himself, he said, "anyway... Those guys are here to try and wreck the place. They're trying to get some kind of creature called the Devourer... Bonnie called it the Midgard Serpent."

Simon and Betty both looked at him. "It exists," murmured Betty? Simon reminded her, "many things mythological have their basis in fact... The Ice-Crown predated the world we knew. Maybe the Serpent did too." Betty nodded. "Whatever this serpent is, Finn," said she, "it's going to be very dangerous if unleashed. If the legends are true, it took power on the order of the Ice-Crown to stop it before." "Which is why I'm planning to stop my dad from waking it in the first place," retorted Finn.

By now, they had arrived at the Grand Master's offices. The guards there admitted them immediately, ushering them into the ancient wizard's presence. Sitting there on his throne, he greeted them with, "Finn the Human! Well met, hero! Have you come in the name of Princess Bonnibel?" "Yeah," said Finn. "Those creeps snatched her, and they're gonna' make her lead them to the Serpent... I have to find them and put a stop to it, n'I need your help..." The wizard frowned down at Finn, and the hero could see him doing that calculation again.

Before he spoke, Betty and Simon both launched into explanations of why it was important they act. The Serpent might be just as dangerous as the Ice-Crown. Being a living creature, it might be even harder to control. The Grand Master motioned them to silence as he continued to consider that. Huntress frowned at him. There was no love lost between her and the erstwhile leader of her coven. He thought she was a reckless jerk with a habit of raising hell–somewhat true–and she thought of him as a dyed-in-the-wool jerk-face who didn't give a damn about anything beyond his cats and his precious _order_. She had been here before, petitioning this ass for something, and she knew he was never enthusiastic about granting requests. As he ruminated on nothing, it was clear to Huntress that he was going to do exactly _nothing_ for them today.

Sure enough, as he reached the end of his mysterious deliberations, he announced, "I'm afraid I cannot aid you at this time, Finn the Hero! With the world in such jeopardy, I must look to the people of Wizard City to ensure the survival of our community..." "_What_," howled Betty? A glare from the Grand Master silenced her. She was a member of that community now and subject to its laws.

"You _owe_ me," growled Finn. "You owe _both of us_," added Betty. The Grand Master glanced away, and they knew they had him. "What is it that you need," rumbled the wizard? "I need a way to find my father and his men," replied Finn, "and I need a weapon to use against them." "I can only grant you one favor," retorted the wizard. "Then grant my favor to him," growled Betty. She knew what this was about. This jackass was fiddling while the whole planet threatened to go up in smoke. It was a pretty safe bet that Wizard City would be just as devastated as everything else when the Devourer hatched out of the planet. He just wanted to be out of their debt.

"Very well," said the Grand Master. "Please step forward and draw your sword." Finn drew the Finn-Sword and stepped forward, holding it out in front of him. "Close your eyes," said the wizard. Finn did as bidden. Passing his hands over Finn's head, the wizard remarked, "I already sense a _link_ between you and the evil that escaped the Crystal Prison. It's there deep inside of you. Everything touched by the prison shares this link... I'll now enhance that connection so that whenever a being from within the prison passes within a thousand miles of you, you'll be able to sense it."

Finn felt a tingly sensation as if thousands of needles were gently pricking his skin. He shivered a little, like he sometimes did when a blast of cold air hit his bare skin. And then it was gone. Huntress, Betty, and Simon both watched with baited breath. At first Finn felt _nothing_.

And then a powerful force slammed his mind.

It was overpowering, and it sent him crashing to his knees. He could feel them. The feel of them was overwhelming his senses with its palpable _evil_. And none were more evil than his dad. Huntress would have come to his side, but Simon held her back. This wasn't the time for emotion. Either Finn would be able to control it or he wouldn't. They couldn't really interfere with this. Shaking off the shock, Finn climbed back to his feet. By sheer force of will, he forced that dirty, _filthy_ feeling down deep into the vault and slammed the door shut. It was there, at the back of his mind, but no longer overwhelming.

"Impressive," rumbled the Grand Master, suggesting he had expected that to drive Finn starkers. Emeraude came very close to killing him. She wanted very much to kill the Grand Master. They didn't exactly have a great history to begin with, and with what he'd just done, she would have taken great joy in ending his long career as serial pain-in-the-ass. The Grand Master was already moving on, having extracted his pound of flesh from the man who wanted to hold his feet to the fire.

"Hold out your sword," said the great wizard. Finn held his blade out with both hands. The wizard reached out and touched it with the tip of a finger. "It is already very powerful," said the ancient being. "But I can grant you power that will enable you to get close enough to do what must be done." Finn felt an electric tingle as the ancient wizard channeled energy into the blade. When the Grand Master let go, he didn't really see any difference, but, in the end, it didn't matter. They had gotten all the help they were going to get. Without a further word, Finn spun on his heel and stormed out. With one last glare for the Grand Master, Huntress followed.

Outside in the street, Finn said, "I can feel him now. He's... He's not yet in the Fire Kingdom, but he's near it." "Probably waiting for Bonnie to find the spot," said Simon. "Then we're still in this," said Huntress, as she took off. The others broke into a run, chasing after her. They raced through town, dodging looney wizards who were in the midst of trying to carry off all their worldly goods to parts unknown–as if that would save them–and madmen who were ready to pick a fight with anyone because they thought they had nothing to lose. _Just another crazy day in Wiz City,_ thought Huntress. Not very long ago, she might have answered some of those challenges, just for the hell of it.

Ducking all the chaos of a town gone mad, the quartet reached the edge of town and came rushing through the barrier to find Banana-Man taking a leak over near some rocks. "Oh, shit," said he, as he hastily zipped up. "You guys ready to roll?" Finn said, "yeah, dude. I got a line on where the saucer-guys are. Right now, though, there's somebody we need to go meet up with. It's on the way."

Betty and Simon got the honor of riding in the cab, while Finn and Huntress climbed up into the bed of the rusty old pickup. Cranking the engine, Banana-Man got it started, and then they were off. As they rode along, Finn did his best to stay awake, when it was clear he was exhausted. Huntress had gotten a little sleep on the way over from the treehouse, and she now told him, "go to sleep, hero." Finn glanced over at her to find her smiling back. "You can use my cloak," she said, as she sat up to take it off. Finn thanked her. Wrapping himself up in her cloak, he lay his head back and drifted off.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

The ugly alien was back. Bonnie could sense him at the door. In spite of her terror, she continued to focus on the documents in front of her. The situation was both more and less dangerous than she had feared. These men had gained little if anything from previous victims. Neither the Duchess of Nuts nor Turtle Princess had the knowledge of science she had. She was, in many ways, their last hope. They didn't dare kill her outright. Still Bonnie knew she was on borrowed time. After the disastrous fight against the Gumball Guardians, several of the crew were anxious to get away from Ooo.

They didn't care about the Devourer anymore. This had gone from being easy money against a bunch of savages on some backwater to more fight than any of them ever wanted to see, and most of them wanted to slink away to some safer venture like robbing old ladies on the street. Bonnie was delighted. She was delighted to have put the fear of Glob in them, and she hoped they would just go. On the flipside, while that would save Ooo, it was a potential problem for _her_. She was the author of much of their pain, and they didn't have many reasons to treat her nice. If they overthrew Martin, she was done for. The sick desires of the filthy rapist behind her might well be the least of her problems.

She could _feel_ the creature's breath on her back as he stood there, all seven-feet of him. She could have described him straight from memory. Long, curling antlers jutting out of either side of his narrow head with hardened spines sheathed in iron, a physique like a body-builder, with muscles everywhere. And those eyes. She remembered his yellow-orange eyes burning into hers. The evil being stroked the long, sticky strands of her hair, and Bonnie flinched. "You could learn to appreciate me," growled the evil creature. "I could take _good_ care of you..." "I'm busy," muttered Bonnie. He continued to play with her hair. "Can't tell if I should fuck you or eat you," said the creature. "Or you could fuck off and die," retorted Bonnie.

The alien grabbed her hair, jerking her head back. Holding the end of her hair in his hand, he made a show of snipping the end with the giant knife he carried. As Bonnie stared, he slipped that lock of hair in his mouth and began chewing. Casually he put the knife to her throat. "Gorg," snarled Martin! "Fuck did I tell you!" The alien let go. As Martin crossed the room, the alien blew a bubble. Smacking on gum, he headed out the closest exit, ducking the looming confrontation. Glaring after him, Martin said, "I must apologize for my colleague, Your Highness."

Bonnie glared at him. If he really gave a damn, he could have dropped her at the gates of her Kingdom. Or better yet, just not have bothered coming back here to Ooo at all. Coming up alongside her, the evil human gave her a smile that looked more like a leer. "Whatcha' got for me," asked the mercenary? "The scrolls were badly deteriorated," replied Bonnie. Smiling, as if he knew she was stalling, the thug said, "but you're a smart girl, Princess. Smart enough to know what I'll do to you if I don't find the Devourer." Bonnie turned back to the scrolls, saying, "Finn will come for me..."

Martin chuckled, "so you keep saying. He's a kid, Your Highness. Just a pussy-whipped little boy." "More of a man than you'll ever be," retorted Bonnie. That was a little much. Grabbing her by the throat, he jerked her out of her seat. His eyes burned into hers, threatening violence. She couldn't really help comparing the two. Finn... was often violent. She could see where he got those _urges_ from. At the same time, his was a _focused_ violence. Instead of randomly wanting to hurt everybody and everything he came across, Finn reserved his anger for those who hurt other people. No matter how angry he got, Finn would never have hurt her. Softly, Bonnie whispered, "he's going to kill you... He's going to cut your guts out. There's nothing you can do to stop it."

She sounded so _certain_. He'd never met a chick that sounded like that, and it kind of creeped him out. He didn't understand her or her thing for his kid. Nor did he really understand the boy he'd abandoned twenty years ago. The way this chick seemed to be sweet on the kid, it should have been _him_ sitting in that palace, with her at his feet. Instead, he was her errand-boy. He was a lot like that giant. Martin still remembered the creature that had thrown him into the Crystal Prison, where he'd spent a long fifteen years thinking empty thoughts. Just the thought that his son had that kind of resolve in him... It didn't bear thinking about. Letting her fall back into the chair, he said, "just find that impact site." Without a further word, he strode for the door. Bonnie watched him go. She'd have to show some progress soon. He was clearly running out of patience. _Finn,_ she thought. _I've never needed you more._

Two hundred miles away, the object of her thoughts lay in the back of Banana-Man's truck, tossing and turning in exhausted sleep. Huntress had her arms wrapped around him, holding him as the pickup clattered along the rutted and ruined road that led to the great scar that was the Fire Kingdom. In the cab of the truck, Simon and Betty had already fallen fast asleep, leaving the truck's owner awake to drive and letting the wizard have the illicit contact she craved so much.

He was exhausted, and his head had been banging into things. Even in sleep, he hadn't lost the frown he'd developed over the last few days. The little boy was discovering just how ugly the adult world was, and it looked like it might very well kill him. The wizard hugged him to her chest as a whirlwind of guilt, anger, and thirst tore through her heart. It was getting worse every day. The more she saw of him, the worse the pain became. She'd tried to wish these feelings away, and she'd utterly failed. A sliver of her heart wanted to belt him because he'd promised she'd get a wish, but she seemed to have gotten utterly cheated.

"Almost there," announced Banana-Man. Giving vent to a tremendous yawn, he smiled back at the wizard. "Just a couple more hours," said the genius. Nodding in acknowledgment, Huntress lay her head back. She needed to get a little sleep herself. This was going to take everything she had and then some. They were all going to have to put in a hundred and ten percent just to survive.

The sky was dark when Finn awoke. He awoke to the feel of something soft but familiar against his face, and, for a moment, he thought maybe he'd dreamed all the ugly of the last day. He could feel a girl's knobs against his nose and cheek, and his mind immediately thought of Simone. Soft perfume told him that his guess was correct. He was laying against a girl, and she had an arm around his shoulder. Slowly opening his eyes, he eased his head up a little.

And shrieked when he caught sight of Huntress's green skin.

The hero jumped back, and banged his head on the back of the cab. Muttering curses, he rubbed at the back of his head. Huntress woke up then, and she turned to find him wearing a tremendous blush. "Sorry," hissed Finn. "So sorry. I was totes violating your space, man. Sorry." "Forget it," rumbled Huntress, as she clambered to her feet. She was more concerned with why they were stopped. Sniffing the air, she found a familiar tang of sulfur. They'd arrived. Looking into the cab, she found everybody but Banana-Man there asleep. Of the little genius, there was no sign.

"We better find him," said the wizard, as she climbed out of the bed. Finn shook Simon awake, telling him, "looks like we made it here." Simon woke Betty, and the pair climbed out of the truck. Stretching and scratching, Betty yawned. It wasn't the most comfortable ride, but it sure beat walking all this way. Stiffly, Finn clambered around the truck, looking for clues. "Tracks," said Huntress, reminding him of just why she had that name. Finn frowned. "Banana-Man's feet, alright," said he. "Let's go see where he went."

Admonishing the two wizards to stay put, Finn and Huntress set off into the gloom. The sulfurous atmosphere was already pretty nasty, and it only got worse as they walked. "To think you wanted to marry a creature from here," rumbled Huntress. Finn flushed. He only vaguely recalled telling her about Flame Princess. Finn said, "sorry about earlier..." "Forget it," muttered Huntress. As the air grew fouler, Huntress stopped them and cast flame-shield. It was instantly more comfortable to breathe and move. Putting a hand to her shoulder, Finn offered, "thanks." As Huntress stared at him in surprise, the hero moved on.

They arrived at the edge of the blasted land that was the Fire Kingdom. There they found their missing genius standing there in his own home-made spacesuit talking to Cinnamon Bun, Phoebe, and Rattleballs. The Flame King had come dressed for a fight in her heavy iron armor. The minute she caught sight of Finn, Phoebe came running over. She threw her arms around her former boyfriend and hugged him tight. "I'm glad you're ok, Finn," she breathed. She'd heard about what happened at the Candy Kingdom from Simone, and she'd been a little worried about Finn.

"I'm ok," said Finn, as he pushed her away. His eyes were a little cold, and she could tell there was something bothering him. They'd both been a little guilty of being cold towards each other after the breakup, but this was something different. It wasn't directed at _her_. "We're going to get him, Finn," murmured Phoebe. "I've got my army mustered. Whatever they've got planned, we can stop them." Which Finn really wasn't worried about. His mind was on Bonnie. "Gonna' need you to hang back, Phoebe," said the hero.

Guessing what was on his mind, Phoebe said, "she wouldn't want you to risk the fate of the whole world on one person, Finn." Finn glared at her. He'd risked the fate of Ooo by continuing to carry on a relationship with _her_! Blushing, as she remembered the last time Finn had been asked to ignore his heart, Phoebe said, "we were wrong, Finn. When we... found out, we should have stopped..." "I've got a plan," Finn interrupted. "If I fail, you can do whatever you think needs to be done, but give me the time to execute the plan." "Alright," said the elemental. "I trust you, Finn. Just... think about Simone and Billy before you do something stupid."

Moving on, Finn said, "he's... they're a hundred miles from here, give or take. They're at the edge of the Fire Kingdom. I'm guessing Banana-Man's right. They can't chance damaging their ship until they know where the Serpent is." "So we can maybe hit them before they go," said Huntress. "We can do better than that," said Phoebe. All eyes turned to her.

"I think I know where the serpent is," said the elemental. Finn was all ears. "There's a place... far out in my kingdom. Even elementals fear to go there. There's strange energy there. It can drain an elemental on contact, leaving just a burnt out husk. I heard... my father once said... there's a weapon there. A terrible creature, half buried, that could smash the world." Nodding, Finn asked, "how long can your army hang out there?" "Days," replied Phoebe. "That's the best we can do." "It'll be good enough," said Finn. "My dad's not going to wait. You get to the Serpent's prison and hole up. We'll try to stop them from reaching you. If we fail..." Phoebe nodded.

Turning to Cinnamon Bun, she said, "CB, you need to go with them. Even a fire-shield spell will fail where I'm going." The talking pastry hugged his lady. Then, taking his gear off his steed, he stepped over to Finn's side. "I'll take care of him, Phoebes," said Finn. "Take care of _you_, Finn," said the elemental, as she climbed onto Jake 2. Phoebe took off, flying back across the land to her waiting army. Finn watched her go, feeling the weight of regret, in spite of the wonderful life he now had. Huntress glared at his back and muttered, "c'mon, donk. You've stared at her butt enough."

Blushing to his hair, Finn spun around and stepped off. He didn't want Cinnamon Bun thinking he was eyeing Phoebe like that! "It'll be crowded in BM's truck," said the hero. "We'll have to get cozy. Rattleballs? How's your power-supply?" "Fully charged," said the battle-droid. "I am ready for combat." "Let's get to it," said Finn.

Betty and Simon were pacing the ash-laden ground and considering going after them, when the group got back to the truck. Both now sported fire-shields, having gotten tired of the stink of sulfur. As Finn strode up with the team, Simon asked, "where'd you go?" "Was meeting Phoebe. She's got her army ready," said Finn. "Where are they," asked the wizard? "She knows where the serpent is," said Finn. "I asked her to guard the spot while we go after my dad." "That's good news," said Simon. "We have a backup plan." Finn nodded. Now all he had to do was save Bonnie.

Back in the Candy Kingdom, Jake was following the ersatz Princess Bubblegum around as she began the work of putting the Kingdom back in order. Everywhere she went, the people cheered as their spirits were lifted. The difference was amazing, causing Jake realize just how smart his bro really was. Standing on the town square in the fading sunlight, the crowd measured in the thousands. They were wild and ecstatic as their ruler promised the swift return of their lost loved ones.

At the height of the speech, as P-Bot outlined all she planned to do in the next days, Jake noticed Starchy come out of the crowd. He'd been worried about the former laborer/radio personality. The aliens had flattened the radio station, but now it looked like Starchy survived. As P-Bot explained how she would rebuild their defenses, the old man howled, "impostor!"

Everybody stopped cheering. All eyes turned to the source of the outburst. "She's not Princess Bubblegum," announced Starchy! "Princess Bubblegum's been taken by those creatures and switched with a fake!" Nervous whispers traveled through the crowd, and, for a moment, Jake felt a sense of panic. _Peebles needs me t'keep it goin',_ thought Jake. Stepping forward, he jabbed a finger at Starchy and growled, "stop talkin' crazy! 'Course it's PB!" Starchy held his ground, shouting, "you must be part of the conspiracy! She's a fake! Starchy saw them take the princess!"

As Jake was contemplating shutting Starchy up in a really unpleasant way, a soft, feminine voice announced, "I saw them take her too." It was Lollipop Girl, and Jake got an uneasy feeling as she came through the crowd. "The Princess saved me from those thugs," said the pretty candy-person. "They were going to drag me off and do terrible things to me, but the Princess stopped them. They snatched her instead of me. That part's true. But... I saw Finn and Jake go out and grab her back from them. I saw Jake come back with the princess, while Finn chased after the others."

Those words gave Starchy pause, and Lollipop Girl came up in front of him, saying, "there's nothing to be afraid of, Starchy. Everything's going to be ok." P-Bot took control of the situation, then, announcing, "I'd gladly do anything necessary to prove I'm the real me, Starchy..." Starchy flushed and softly muttered, "uhh... that won't be necessary, Princess. Sorry... Starchy... doesn't know what came over him." The little puffball stepped back into the crowd and disappeared. Lollipop Girl turned to Jake and gave him a smile and a wink. Jake said, "alright, everybody. Let's get to work. We got lots of places to search." As a relieved P-Bot looked on, her creator's people dispersed, off to look for the missing and to start cleaning up the town.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Bonnibel Bubblegum was used to not sleeping. There were times where important work kept her up for _days_ at a stretch. Right now her important work was dodging assault and looking for a way out. She had already found the Devourer before they kidnaped her. Right now, she was stalling for time. Fortunately, while Martin knew she was stalling, he had no idea just how much. Bonnie imagined it would never have occurred to him that she would already know what he was after and where it might be found. Not having to spend time on damaged and deteriorated scrolls left her free to pursue other interests.

The exercise of the moment was finding a way to use the computers to disable the ship. It was a pretty safe bet these people wouldn't destroy Ooo while they were still on it! Problem was she was having difficulty teaching herself the language while she waded through multiple security layers. The constant interruption of guards checking up on her wasn't helping. It was Martin's way of _protecting_ her from his crew of mass murderers and rapists. Bonnie would honestly have preferred he didn't bother. She had a knife, purloined while Gorg was assaulting her, and she would happily use it on it's former owner or anyone else for that matter.

As if summoned by her thoughts, Martin came through her door. The Princess quickly changed screens to the scrolls she'd been translating. As the evil human approached, he said, "don't bother Princess. There's nothing you can access without my permission. Everything on this ship is coded to my DNA." Stopping beside her, he took a good look at her scroll translation. "Good stuff, Princess," he congratulated her. "When do I get the rest?" "Another day," replied Bonnie. He laughed. Shaking his head, he tousled her sticky hair and said, "now what did I tell you about stalling, sweetheart?" Bonnie glanced away.

Sitting down on the console, he said, "I'm not such a bad guy, sweet-girl. I'd be willing to take you along if you play ball." Her eyes narrowed, and he chuckled, "you don't think the old Earth will survive the birth of the Devourer, do you?" Stroking her pretty face, he said, "I could take good care of you..." Bonnie flinched away. Coolly, she told him, "it amazes me that someone like Finn could have come from _your_ loins. What happened to his mother? Did you _take care_ of her too?"

That made him a little irritated. Hand curling into a fist, he almost punched her. Bonnie merely sat there staring at him. Voice a low growl, he said, "is all of you gum? I wonder how bubblegum would feel wrapped around my dick? Maybe I should find out." Bonnie retorted, "you'll never know..." Grabbing her by the hair, he said, "won't I?" The pink princess said nothing. "How many times did my son hit it," he asked? "Must have hit it pretty good for you to be so loyal to him. Tell me, are you a squealer, girl...?" Bonnie's face went red-hot at the suggestive language he used. Laughing, he said, "but he seems to have dumped you for a real human. Guess mutant pussy's not near as good as the real stuff."

Bonnie spat in his face. Angry, the evil human backhanded her, knocking off her glasses and knocking her out of the chair. As the proud princess lay there sobbing, Martin came very close to kicking the shit out of her. Rising, he said, "you've got four hours, princess. After that, I'll let Gorg have you." He walked out, completely oblivious to the knife she clutched in her hand. Bonnie stared at the door. Four hours. She had a deadline now.

As the sun was setting over the alien spacecraft, an unlikely team of heroes came slipping up on the strange vehicle. They'd almost had a disaster when Banana-Man's truck broke through a crumbling old bridge and nearly plummeted into the lava below. Now they had made it across to this strangely verdant island in the midst of a boiling cauldron of molten rock. The air was thick with toxic gasses, and even the fire-shield spells everyone sported did little to keep the heat at bay. Rattleballs was in the lead, simply because he had the strength, in spite of the temperature, to keep going. Finn strode forward in his tracks with single-minded purpose, his eyes fixed on the place where his senses said his father stood.

Huntress was right behind him, staring at his back, as her mind went over and over the various ways she'd approached this little puzzle. She'd flirted relentlessly. She'd used all her tricks and charms. She'd even paid for his meals! What kind of woman did _that_?! _A desperate one, Emeraude,_ thought the wizard. She was becoming increasingly desperate. What would she offer him next? If she gave everything away, what would happen then? She wasn't sure she could manage to do that.

Finn signaled a halt, and he motioned everybody off the trail. His six companions gathered around him, as he squatted there in the brush. "So we've found the ship," said the hero. "My dad's aboard, and I can sense there's at least eight guys here from the Crystal Prison..." "Which means there's probably a lot more," opined Huntress. Finn nodded. She had that right. "From what the Banana-Guards said, they're armed with some kind of gun," said Finn. He'd read about guns in the library, and he knew there were a few in Bonnie's Kingdom, but he'd never really handled one. He'd never seen the need. Now he was facing them, giving the enemy a really big advantage against his team.

"What's the play," asked the beautiful wizard? "We need to get Banana-Man to the engine room or the control room... somewhere he can maybe break something or shut something off to keep them from leaving. While you guys are doing that, I'm'a go find the princess." Simon frowned and asked, "by yourself?" "If anything, this'll be a diversion for you guys. They'll pro'lly guard her better than the other two places," said Finn. "My dad wants this Devourer thing, and Bonnie's the last person who might know where to go." Simon nodded. He was right about that. "Ok," said Simon, "but I'd feel better if Rattleballs was with you." "Where'll I be," asked Huntress? "Go with Banana-Man," said Finn. "I need you to make sure the ship can't fly. Do whatever you have to do."

Banana-Man looked a little nervous. This seemed to all be hinging on him. He wasn't sure he was up to the task. At the same time, he knew there wasn't anybody else here who could help. It would have to be him. Turning to Betty, Finn said, "gonna' need a diversion. Need you to make some lights or sounds or something. Get their attention so we can sneak in." Betty nodded. She could do that. "If we get separated," said Finn, "get back to the bridge and wait." Finn rose then, but Huntress wasn't happy with her part in this. Taking him by the arm, she stopped him. Finn directed the others to go on ahead.

"What's wrong," he asked? "Why're you doing this," she asked? "This is my fault," said Finn. "I let that fucker out. Now I have to kill him. Wherever PB's at, that's where he'll be." Huntress's face twisted into a sour grimace, as if she was swallowing something nasty. Resting a hand on her shoulder, Finn said, "I know I can count on you. You're smarter than me, and you're a good fighter. I'd... I'd just mess this up. You can make sure that jerk can't leave." Blinking back tears, Huntress turned away and walked off. Finn moved quickly to catch up.

The little party slipped through the woods and undergrowth to the ship, crouching down again in the brush near the entry ramp. Light coming down the ramp told them that the aliens were home, and the ship active. There were no guards in sight, but an audible hum and a tingle told Banana-Man that there were defenses they couldn't see. "They may have some kind of force-field," rumbled the genius. Finn frowned. This could be over before it got started. Simon picked up a pebble and chucked it at the space where the ship sat as a test. The pebble bounced back from an invisible wall, landing back at their feet. Finn muttered curses. What the hell were they going to do? Dig underneath?

Inside the ship, Bonnie sat watching the security cameras for signs of the crew's activities. Ironically, Martin had given her the key to getting access to some of the ship's systems. He'd told her how the security system was keyed–and then given her the means to access it–a handful of hairs from his fat face. Bonnie had used them to access the computer, but there were still levels of security that eluded her. She had been able to access the cameras, and now she had access to something marked 'defensive screens'. Now, as she watched her friends on the monitor, puzzling at how to get inside the ship, the pretty princess decided it was now or never.

Flicking a couple of icons on the screen before her, Bonnie turned off the defensive screens. Rising, she rushed out the door and turned for the exit. She'd been dragged straight to her prison when they arrived at the ship, and she could easily remember how to find the way out again. Quickly but quietly she made the twists and turns, reaching the main hallway in just five minutes. The exit ramp was just ahead, and she began pondering the question of guards. If there were guards, she might well have to fight. She could only hope that Finn and the others noticed that the barrier was gone.

As she was considering just trying to run for it, an alarm sounded, indicating her sabotage had been discovered. Bonnie took off. It was now or never. She'd at least try to get her friends' attention. As she approached the turn, three aliens came rushing around the corner and down the hall, Gorg among their number. Bonnie skidded to a halt, as her lively mind searched for a way out of this. The beautiful candy-person backpedaled, searching this way and that for a way out. The slavering alien, with his antlers, and burning eyes reminded her of the strange mutant deer that had held she and her citizens captive underneath the Candy Kingdom. That was an experience she didn't really want to repeat–especially with the threats this _thing_ had levied on her.

Nasty tongue lolling out, the evil alien approached her, hand on the giant knife he carried. "You remind me of that pretty human woman Martin gave us on our last job," chuckled the giant thug in his grating voice. "Mmmm... she was nice." Bonnie backed into a wall, and her hand went in her pocket for the knife she'd stolen earlier. Gorg grabbed her by her collar, looking for all the world as if he might tear her clothes off. There were three of them. Bonnie did the calculation in her mind. She wasn't a knife fighter. These guys could be wearing armor, and if she revealed the knife she had, she'd lose it. If she started swinging, she could well end up dead. They'd almost certainly beat her very badly. Deciding it wasn't time just yet, the candy-person drew her hand out of her pocket. _C'mon, Finn,_ thought the Princess.

The intercom came to life then, with Martin's voice announcing, "Gorg! Bring that fuckin' bitch up here immediately!" Gorg grinned at her. "Looks like you get to keep it to yourself a little longer, sweet thing," said he. The sick bastard cut off another lock of her hair and began chewing on it as he frog-marched her up to the ship's control room.

Martin was there, sitting in a chair before the controls, and now he turned to face Bonnie, with a look of rage on his face. "How the fuck did you do that," he demanded?! Bonnie glanced away. "Real smart, Princess," he allowed. "You're smart as they say you are. Lot smarter than the little bitch in the turtle-shell. Couldn't tell us what we needed to know. She pissed herself just before Gorg had t'shoot her." Bonnie flinched at the shocking confirmation of what she'd guessed. Rising, Martin came over to her, and she found herself standing between a rock and a very hard place. Gorg stroked the side of her face with one of his many knives as Martin asked, "where's the Serpent, Princess? I know you have the answer."

Defeated for the moment, Bonnie replied, "I'll tell you if you swear to take me with you... I... I'll do anything you want." "Better," growled Martin. Taking her by the arm, he jerked her towards him. Turning her towards the console, he said, "input the coordinates. There." Bonnie leaned down over the console and typed in the coordinates, praying that Finn had a backup plan. She wasn't sure he'd been able to get on the ship, and right now she was still very much alone.

Done inputting the coordinates, Bonnie straightened. Martin grabbed her and pulled her to him. Grabbing a handful of her ass, he said, "you'll learn to like it, Princess." Turning to his men, he said, "lock her in my room." He intended to have him a piece after they finished up with the monster. In the now, he turned to his chief scientist and said, "where do things stand with the Controller?" Bonnie's ears pricked up as her captors hauled her towards the door. The little bug-eyed alien replied, "it's almost finished. I'll have it in another hour." "See that you do," said Martin. That was the key to this. They had to have the controller fitted _before_ they released the Devourer. If they didn't, it would likely go on the rampage, and they'd have nothing to show for all the work.

Sitting down again, Martin checked and double-checked the coordinates against known hazards on this planet from his survey of a few years ago. She'd kept her end of the bargain, so he wasn't going to smash her. She was pretty enough to make a nice bonus prize from this job, and he could easily see what his son saw in the little whore. Honestly, he was really tempted to go have a little fun with her right now, but there was work still to be done. He was close now. Having tried three times to get the Devourer, he didn't want to fail again.

As much work as he'd put in on this, he was really tempted to just keep the thing–to use it to further his own goals. Instead of being a nobody, he could turn the tables on his employers and make them serve _him_. The thought of smashing their homeworld–of watching the Devourer well... _devour_ the chunks, gave him a thrill. Then he could make the little princess a princess again–over his own empire. _One thing at a time, Martin, old buddy,_ he thought. He had to get the creature first.

Powering up the engines, he raised the boarding ramp and slowly brought the thrusters to full power. As the ship became stable in the hover, he raised the landing gear. And then he increased thrust, gaining altitude. This wasn't ideal. The ship was meant for space-travel, not for puttering around in an atmosphere. He had to be very careful how much power he used, lest he overshoot his goal or worse, damage something. Unfortunately those fucking robots of hers had wrecked most of his shuttles. Right now they had one shuttle left. After that, it was escape-pods.

That thought led to other thoughts. He had hoped the bitch would cave because he'd seen how useful she could be to him. Now that he'd started breaking her, he could work on turning that brilliant mind of hers to what _he_ wanted. If she could build machines like that on top of the ruins of Earth and even teach herself how to operate this ship under the noses of his guards, she could do a lot for him. If she was good enough in the sack, he might not even mind that she was a fucking mutant. He'd find him a good human woman to breed a son on, but he would certainly not mind keeping the mutant around for a while.

**For those who were expecting a little more Lemons, I came to the realization that it wouldn't fit very well in this segment. Sooo... More lemons later.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

They had only been able to get four of them on the ship. When the forcefield had been shut down, Finn had wanted to rush in, but Simon had wanted to wait and see if the aliens were going to leave the ship. They'd spent so much time arguing that, when the engines started up, they'd had to scramble to get aboard. Only Finn, Huntress, Banana-Man, and Rattleballs had made it. Cinnamon Bun, Simon, and Betty were still on the ground. Standing in the brightly lit hallway, Finn looked around him as he pondered what to do now. They were moving. That meant that Bonnie had probably had to give them something. There was an equal chance that she'd tricked them with a bad location or that she'd had to give them the real thing. They'd have no way of knowing until the fire-elementals attacked. Finn didn't even know how long he had to save Bonnie. "Ok," said Finn. "Get going. Find the control room." He was going to see if he could find Bonnie.

The ship was a maze, with passages curving in on themselves and cross-hallways leading off in a half-dozen different directions. Finn quickly lost sight of his friends and was quickly lost after that. The only thing that kept him going was the strange, throbbing sensation in the back of his mind. He could _feel_ his father. The feeling was pretty vague now–at least compared with the tunnels around him. At the same time, it was really all he had, so he did the best he could with it.

Elsewhere, Huntress found herself struggling to focus as she led the way into the depths of the alien ship. Her mind was on the same thing it always seemed to be on these days. Finn. Finn the Human filled her waking thoughts and invaded her dreams at night. She had it bad, and right now she was terrified of what he was walking into all by himself. She didn't want to be sneaking through the bowels of this ship trying to find something to sabotage. She wanted to be with the man she loved, meeting fate head on, even if it cost her life.

The worst were the thoughts of Simone. Guilty thoughts. She'd been tempted. She'd felt a temptation to make the Ice-Queen disappear permanently. Her reflexes had saved her competition, taking the whole thing out of the way of personal choice, but she kept replaying that moment over and over in her mind. She'd have been able to comfort him. She'd have held him in her arms and let him cry on her the way he did down in that filthy vault. Then he would have been all hers.

"You are not paying attention," murmured the battle-droid. Huntress looked up to find herself walking into a door. This wasn't going to help her. She needed to get her head back in the game. The sooner they found this engine room or whatever, the sooner she could get after Finn and find out where he was. "This way," said Banana-Man. "The sign points this way..." He was pointing at a sign that hung over the other hallway. "You can read that," she rumbled? "Symbols," said Banana-Man. "That's the electrical symbol for a generator."

Without a word, Rattleballs walked into the hall and Banana-Man fell in behind him. Mocking him under her breath, Huntress fell in at the rear. The ship was much bigger than Huntress had imagined, with vast, seemingly endless halls. She couldn't imagine how many creatures were needed to run something so big. _But Bonnie _did_ kill a lot of them,_ thought the wizard. She and Finn had seen the corpses piled up all over the town on their way in. Things had been nothing short of horrendous when they reached the palace. Mercenary though she was, Huntress had never seen that much death before. _Hope she killed enough that we don't have a fight,_ thought the wizard.

As they followed the signs, the corridors got darker and darker, and signs of habitation got sparser. It looked a lot like the aliens didn't come down here. That could be good and bad. They really didn't have a way of knowing which. If they were lucky, it meant that the ship ran well enough on its own that the crew didn't need to bother. That could see them get their dirt done and get out in short order, leaving Huntress to pursue Finn.

Following tunnel after tunnel, hallway after hallway, they finally emerged in a large room with a massive piece of humming machinery sitting in the middle of it. Pipes and ducting fed into the giant piece of alloy from the top, and more pipes and ducts led away from its base. Turning to Rattleballs, Banana-Man asked, "what do you see?" Frowning, the machine scanned across the array of spectrums it had access to, then announced, "large amounts of infrared, high magnetic field. Trace amounts of gamma radiation." "Bingo," said Banana-Man. The genius strolled up to the massive machine and began looking it over.

"What," asked Huntress? "What is it?" "Reactor," replied Banana-Man. "Not sure what kind... Could be fusion. Could be something exotic like anti-matter. Man, that'd be cool..." Which made no sense at all to the wizard. "What does that mean," she demanded? "We've found their central power-source," said the genius. "Now I have to figure out how to shut it down in a controlled manner." "Why," asked the wizard? "Because the ship will fall out of the sky," rumbled Rattleballs. With them on board.

"Fine, fine," growled the wood nymph. "You stay with the spud..." "Where are you going," rumbled the robot? "You were ordered to..." "I don't take orders from anybody but myself," retorted the wizard. Without another word, she headed out the door through which they'd come.

Phoebe scanned the distant horizon again, feeling the slightest apprehension. They had been here two days, and, for many in her army, that was two days too many. They were all feeling it. The drain was palpable. This place was a blight on her kingdom, and she couldn't help feeling that it was slowly draining the life from the Fire Kingdom. If they didn't find a way to deal with this, sooner or later the blight would spread. It was mad to think of it, but the very reason for her kingdom's existence was slowly killing them.

"The numbers are better than yesterday, my King" rumbled the functionary. Frowning, Phoebe nodded. Taking a breath, the elemental announced, three drained completely and four turned into flambits. With rest and recuperation, those four may be restored. That didn't concern her nearly as much as morale. If the delay went on much longer, her army would be in no condition to fight. "The giants," she asked? She had two left. Right when she needed them the most–when all of Ooo needed them–Bonnie's sabotage had taken them away. She could have kicked the candy-girl's ass just then. "One is faltering," sighed the functionary. "They are working to restore it as we speak."

"That takes priority," growled Phoebe. The functionary reminded her, "we have many ill..." Grabbing his collar, her eyes blazing, Flame King growled, "the giants have priority!" Nodding, the functionary swore it would be taken care of. When he had gone, Phoebe returned to her lonely vigil. A twinge in her nose signaled something that made her very afraid. Trying to ignore it–trying to will it away–she wriggled her nose back and forth. Finally, though, she could control it no longer, letting forth a tremendous sneeze in multi-colored embers. "Great," sighed Phoebe. "Now I've got the sniffles too." _So how long until _I_ get sick,_ she thought. For some of the dead, it had only taken hours.

She felt a tremendous sense of frustration and fear just now. She'd been doing all she could to hold the army together, and she'd sent scouts in every direction, searching for the enemy. She'd even taken a patrol or two herself on Jake 2. They had nothing. They'd seen no sign of the mysterious enemy who'd attacked Bonnie's kingdom. She was running out of time. She couldn't keep the army deployed here forever.

Unrolling the map, she scanned it's crystaline surface, looking for alternatives. There were watchposts near here–abandoned fortresses that had served to watch the mysterious creature. Most had been abandoned due to its negative effects on the occupants, but they were far enough away that it would buy her army time. Reaching the aliens would take longer. They'd have some time to do their dirt. She'd be gambling that they couldn't free the creature all at one shot, but she couldn't keep the army here any longer.

As Phoebe was deciding on a fallback position, voices announced that something was happening. Rolling up her map, the Flame King strode towards the sound of the voices. She'd taken no more than a dozen steps when a shocking sight came out of the skies before her very eyes. Finn's mystery creatures had arrived. "To arms," shouted the Flame King! "To arms! The enemy's here among us!"

Aboard the ship, Martin Mertens settled the massive vessel into a hover over the site identified by the pink princess. Just as she'd said, the creature was there. He could see its strange, iridescent scales, flickering with plasma discharges. Unfortunately there was also a problem. There before him was an astonishing sight. The ground around the Devourer was covered with flickering shapes that reminded him of nothing so much as living candles. There were _thousands_ of them.

Flicking on a switch, he turned on the loud-hailer and shouted, "whoever you are, you're trespassing on my property. I'd suggest you clear out before I clear you out." It was arrogant and abrasive, but it was also intimidating. After all, he was on a starship, and they were on foot in the middle of a continent-sized scar on some backwater planet. A voice from below, shockingly loud in spite of the distance, dared to reply. Sounding like stones grinding against each other, the voice replied, "it's _you_ who're trespassing in my kingdom, _Martin_..." This thing _knew_ who he was. "I know what you seek, and you'll not have it, even if it takes my life and that of my army," growled the Flame King.

_Finn's doing,_ thought the rogue. It had to be! Somehow he was responsible for this. Martin didn't think they could damage his ship, though. They were safe behind the forcefields. On the flipside, flame-creatures or not, he thought he could take them out. He'd have to. He couldn't land his survey team until they were gone. Only question was, where was his son? "Where the fuck is that kid," growled Martin?

"You mean _me_," announced Finn?

Turning in his seat, Martin said, "pretty clever, kid. You musta' sneaked on when that cunt dropped the shields." His boy stood there in the doorway holding a fucking sword. It made Martin laugh. "Who's the creep on the ground," asked Martin? "Friend of yours?" "Her name's Phoebe," growled Finn. "'nother cunt, huh," laughed the thug? Shaking his head, he said, "you don't get it. That fucking bitch, whatever she is can't stop me. Got these things called _shields_. Those little candles can't get through them. But I _can_ hurt them." Reaching behind him, he keyed the intercom and calmly announced, "open fire. Kill them all."

To Finn's horror, the screen before him lit up with blazing bolts of light as the spaceship began pounding the ground below. Outside, bolts of incandescent plasma tore into the fire-elemental army, decimating the troops. The heavy guns blasted many elementals into nothingness on contact. The elementals launched volleys of fireballs. As Phoebe watched in shock and fear, those blasts of flame impacted harmlessly against an invisible barrier around the ship. No matter how hard they fired, the alien ship seemed to absorb the punishment. "We must retreat," shouted her general! "We can't stop them! We must retreat!" Grabbing him by the collar, she retorted, "to _where_?! You've seen what the creature does to us while it's asleep! If they succeed, we're doomed!" It wasn't time to retreat. It was time to go all in! "Release the giants," shouted Phoebe!

Gasps of terror alerted Martin to the fact that something shocking had just happened behind him. Turning slightly in his seat, he caught a glimpse of something impossible, just before the ship _rocked_. The massive spaceship _lurched_, as alarms blared and the shield generators strained. It was like the fucking robots all over again! Martin spun around in his chair, shouting, "kill that fucker! I gotta' deal with this!"

The shields were buckling under the assault, and the creatures were absorbing punishing hits from his guns. Adding to the danger, they were forcing the ship down towards the semi-molten ground. Martin added power, fighting the power of gravity and the force exerted by the blazing giants. As alarms blared, he stabilized the hover. Behind him, gunfire erupted as his crew tried to take out his son.

Finn had been afraid of this. He'd been afraid of coming up against the terrible weapons that had literally blown apart the Banana-Guards. Much to his surprise–and that of the aliens–his sword moved _itself_, blocking the first of the bolts of light. Then, proving that was no fluke, the Finn-Sword blocked the second and the third. The aliens lit up the hallway, but Finn deflected their wrath. "What the fuck's going on," growled Martin?! "Haven't you killed that fucking kid yet?!" A scream announced that things behind him were getting worse. One of his crewmen had just met his fate at the end of Finn's sword. Turning his head to see what was going, on, he shouted, "I said kill that fucker! What are you waiting on?!"

Outside, Phoebe watched as her giants grappled with the alien ship. The barrier was still there, keeping them from scoring a knock out blow. The ship was still firing, savaging her army and pounding the two giants. As she watched, one began to falter, and then, finally, it fell, collapsing into shards of molten stone. A tremendous cry of sorrow went up from her troops, telling her all she needed to know about morale. _All in, Phoebe,_ she thought, as she gathered all her strength for one last effort.

The Flame King rose up, a fifty-foot geyser of flame with white-hot slashes for eyes. Her arms glowed neon-blue as she took swipes at the spaceship, battering it and causing arcs of energy to cascade around the hull. Some of the weapons went offline, damaged or destroyed by the terrible blows raining down on the ship. Alien crewmen died, crushed or burned by collapsing bulkheads and shattered machinery, and again the ship began to fall. Martin strained mightily at the controls. He was not fucking being taken out by a bitch!

Dialing in more power, he fought the ship to higher altitude. He had to get out of reach of that _thing_! If he could get out of their range, he could take them out at leisure. Behind him, more screams announced that his son had killed another couple of his men. As the ship gained altitude, tearing itself out of the reach of the creatures below, he had the space to deal with his worthless shit of a kid. "What the fuck," growled the older man?! "You fuckers can't take care of a kid with a fucking sharpened stick?!"

"Why don't you come and take care of me yourself," hissed Finn, as he held his sword in a loose guard? He'd been nicked a couple of times, but he was in good shape. The only problem was that he couldn't quite advance. They had the room, and there were enough of them that they could get through his defense. He had the hallway. They had kind of a stalemate. "You can't win, dad," rumbled Finn. "Flame King will never let you get the serpent." "I'll bomb that bitch from orbit," laughed Martin. "She can die just like everybody else here. How many cunts you tappin' anyway, kid?" Then, "and how'd you keep from burning your dick off?" Face gone hot, Finn retorted, "fuck you!"

Rising, Martin stepped forward, his hand on his side-arm. "You can't win this, kid," said he. "That was a good try, I'll grant you that. You caught me by surprise. Didn't think creatures like that existed..." "You can't win," growled Finn. "Give back the Princess, and you fuckers can leave..." "Nah, kid," laughed Martin. "She's my new bitch. Gonna' bust that snatch wide open until it won't close up." Grinning, he said, "maybe I'll let you watch..." Raising his pistol and aiming at Finn's face, he laughed, "nah..."

Much to his shock, Finn's sword, moved to block that bolt of malice, even deflecting it back at his feet. The bolt of light nearly pierced his boot. Jumping back, he shouted, "kill that fucker! Kill him now!" His men stared at him and then at the boy. "_Now_," shouted Martin. "He can't stop you all! Charge!"

And that's when the alarm went off.

'_Shields failing_,' announced the computer! 'Power conduit severed! Shields failing.' Martin rushed to the controls. The conduit feeding the shield generator had ruptured down in engineering! Keying the intercom, he shouted, "get those shields back on line!" No sooner had he said that, than a bolt of incandescent plasma tore into the ship from above. A glance to the screen revealed a slim figure circling around his ship, darting and dodging around blasts of plasma from his guns. This bitch was persistent, and she was doing real damage now.

"Give it up, dad," shouted Finn! "You can't win!" "Watch me," growled Martin. Powering up his heaviest weapon, he took aim at the creatures still below. Cutting loose with the weapon, he killed three-thousand of the elementals at one shot. Keying the loud-hailer, he said, "Get lost, bitch, or I'll fucking kill them all!" Phoebe's answer was another bolt of plasma. Alarms blared, announcing loss of structural integrity. He was losing segments of his ship! Martin put the ship into a climb, hoping she couldn't pursue.

Phoebe focused all her will. Something was going on in the ship. She was sure of it! Finn must have gotten aboard after all. That meant he was now in danger. After all he'd done for her, she couldn't just let him die, and she knew Martin wouldn't give up. It was now or never. Climbing, fighting the thinning atmosphere, the elemental chased the ship, hurling bolts of fire at its engines and weapons.

Martin felt a chill of fear as the fire-woman kept on coming, dodging gunfire as she did. Strangely, he couldn't tear his eyes from her. She was weirdly beautiful, and he'd have had to admit his son had good taste in females, even if he didn't have the balls to make use of it. She was doing terrible damage to his ship, cutting their vitals out, and if she wasn't stopped, they weren't going to make it. Behind him, another of his men died, and another. A sudden feeling of weightlessness told him that the gravity controls were faltering. He wasn't going to make orbit. Changing course, he aimed for a patch of clear ground outside the lava-fields. If he could get the ship on the ground, there was a hope of making repairs. Fighting the erratic controls, the human tried to correct the course of his ride home from a precipitous fall into as shallow a glide as he could manage. All the while, the fire-creature kept up her assault.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

The reactor stuttered, telling Martin that he'd lost. This round was over. They weren't going to make safe ground. They were going to land in the lava-ocean below. With the shields down, the ship wouldn't last long. It was time to go. Without a word to his men, the thug got up, and in one smooth motion, rushed for the other door. As Finn shouted curses after him, the evil human ran out the door, locking it behind him. Finn threw himself into battle with the aliens then. Swinging his sword like a man possessed, he waded into them, slashing and chopping, even as the Finn-Sword blocked the rain of gunfire coming his way.

He could _feel_ bolts of light hit him, and he knew he was hurt bad. He kept on fighting. They had him surrounded, but they were faltering too, starting to realize what he already knew. They'd lost. The ship was doomed. He had to get after Martin. He knew his father was going to the place he'd stashed Princess Bubblegum, and Finn was afraid of what he'd do when he got there. A bolt of lightning and a blast of concussive force took out the four men behind him, giving him breathing space. Charging in on his injured legs, Finn cut down the last three between him and the door. Staggering to the door, he jammed his sword into the gap between the door's leaves and pried at it.

"Stand back, donk," announced Huntress. Finn scooted out of her way, as she lit off one of her deadly arrows. The door absorbed the blast, buckling inwards. "One more time," said the wizard, as she let go with another one. This one tore one of the leaves out of the track, letting Finn into the hallway beyond. "What're you doing here," growled Finn, as the wizard came up alongside him? "You're welcome, donk," growled Huntress.

Irritated, the hero said, "you were supposed to make sure Banana-Man..." "The ship got stopped, didn't it," she snarled?! Finn shut his mouth. She was right. He was feeling the pain of his wounds and the terror of what his dad was doing to Bonnie. Huntress grabbed his shoulder and stopped him, shoving him up against the wall. "You're bleeding," she reminded him. "You won't catch him if you bleed to death."

Going into his backpack, she got out one of the vials of Cyclops tears there. Daubing some on a rag, she wiped down the worst of his wounds, causing the broken flesh to knit. Then she made him stand there while the healing magic took effect.

While she did her best not to cry or scream at him.

"We... we gotta' move," said Finn. "The ship's going down. I don't know how long..." Huntress nodded. She'd seen some of the aliens jump into small cubbies, which she quickly discovered were some kind of lifeboat. They'd rocketed off the ship to safety. She wanted to get on one herself, but she knew Finn wasn't going to go for that.

Outside, Phoebe floated there in mid air, catching her breath. She'd beaten them. With Finn's help from inside, she'd beaten the alien ship. Now it was falling into the lava ocean–taking the man she still loved with it. As much as it had taken for her to stop the ship, she now had to arrest its fall. She had to buy time for Finn and the others to get off. Channeling heat into the air beneath the ship, she created a cushion, slowing the massive machine's fall. As she watched more and more of the ship's lifeboats rocketed away, carrying the mercenaries. She prayed to glob that Finn could find one of them before it was too late.

Bonnibel Bubblegum crouched in the darkness of Martin's bedroom with a broken chair leg in her hand. They'd made her change into a transparent nightgown at gunpoint, laughing and joking all the while at her shame and embarrassment. They'd made cruel jokes about what their leader was going to do to her, and they'd promised her they would all get a turn when he got bored. She'd lost the knife when they took her clothes. Now, all she had was the broken chair, and she prayed that was enough.

Alarms, explosions and the ship's shaking and shuddering hull had announced that the ship was under assault. Bonnie had prayed fervently that her friends had managed to sabotage the ship. They were still moving. She expected the ship would have fallen out of the sky. It might be falling now for all she knew. Still, she waited, crouched in the darkness.

When the door opened, she immediately leapt on the first creature through the door, finding herself clubbing her wayward creation, Rattleballs. "Pleased to see you too, Princess," announced the battle-droid. "Rattleballs," murmured Bonnie. "Am I glad to see you!" She hugged the machine, giving Banana-Man an eyeful. Face red, he said, "uh, hi, Princess. Uh... We came to rescue you." "Where's Finn," asked the Princess, as she turned to her subject? "Went looking for Martin," said the genius. "Listen. We gotta' get going! The ship's going down!"

Bonnie stepped into the hallway with him, saying, "catch me up. What's going on?" "My fucking son's what's going on," growled Martin, as he shot the battle-droid's right leg out from under him. Banana-Man dove into the room as the evil human shot at him too. Martin locked the door after him. Then, grabbing Bonnie by the arm, he started dragging her down the hall. "Looking good, Princess," said he, as he leered at her. Bonnie said not a word as she was dragged down the hall. She was close. If Finn could just catch up.

Minutes later, Finn and Huntress arrived on the scene to find Banana-Man pounding on the door, shouting for help and Rattleballs laying on the ground. "What happened," shouted Finn? "Martin surprised me," said the droid. "He took the princess." Huntress unlocked the door, letting Banana-Man out. "I'm goin' after the princess," declared Finn. "You three get off the ship." Without a further word, he rushed off down the hall after the great unrequited love of his life.

Focused as he was on his anger at his father, he could _feel_ the signal from him. It came through loud and clear, and Finn took the twists and turns almost as if he knew them. Newly invigorated by the Cyclops-tears, he ran full tilt down the passageways. Aliens popped out at him, rushing for the exits themselves. Finn cut them down ruthlessly, killing anybody who hesitated even a moment to be out of his way. Racing at last into a broad, open room he found himself facing a row of doorways set on either side of him. A flicker of motion ahead of him caught his attention. Just as he glanced that way, the door at the far end shut.

Finn raced down the hallway, chancing to glance through one of the windows he passed. He could see the ground, and it was coming up fast. Reaching the doorway, he found himself facing the back end of a smaller spaceship, and he could see another doorway opposite him. As he watched, the shuttle was slowly lowered into the open air below. Tapping frantically at the buttons alongside the door, he finally managed to get it open. A blast of wind struck him, but he strode forward into the wind until he stood on the edge of the docking platform. His mind raced, trying to figure out what he was going to do now. He didn't have a lot of time. Bracing himself, Finn dove off the platform and onto the smaller ship as the docking arm released.

He almost slid off, as the ship lurched. Then, as Finn flailed, Martin got the shuttle leveled off. Finn clawed for purchase on the ship, even digging in with his sword as the shuttle's thrusters fired. Holding on with all his strength, he searched for a way to stop the little ship as it began to pick up speed. Behind him, the mothership crashed into the lava, cracking open on impact. Almost immediately the tremendous heat began to melt the heavy metal hull. An exhausted Phoebe turned her attention now to the smaller ship and the small form clinging tenaciously to it. The familiar blue color told her exactly who it was, and she knew that Martin must be at the controls.

Swooping down out of the sky, she poured the last of her strength into a flame bolt, savaging the rear of the ship. Then, as the ship went arcing across the sky towards a rocky outcrop on 'land', Phoebe swooped down and caught her former boyfriend. Lacking the strength to fly any longer, she aimed her body for the nearest solid ground, praying she had the strength to make it that far. In spite of the heat burning his clothes and burning his skin, Finn clung to her for dear life. Coming in low over the dusty, weed-choked ground, Phoebe finally let go of him. The two went crashing into the earth, rolling over and over in the dirt before finally coming to a stop. Finn glanced over at Phoebe, then collapsed, unconscious.

It was hours later that Finn awoke. He'd been having a terrible dream. Martin was hurting PB, kicking her and hitting her, while an alien held a gun to her head, threatening to shoot her. Just as the evil creature pulled the trigger, Finn woke up, screaming. Sitting up with a start, he found himself laying on the warm ground. The funk of sulfur told him he wasn't far from the lava ocean. Nearer to hand, he found Phoebe's form. His eyes wandered over her shapely body. Her hips had gotten broader, and her butt curvier.

_Holy shit,_ said Finn, as he realized his old flame was stark naked. He tore his eyes away. Then, as he realized she wasn't moving, he turned and took a good look at her. She was _cold_. Gathering himself to his feet, he moved to her side. Reaching out gingerly, he touched her shoulder. When his hand didn't burn, he shook her. "Huh...," moaned Phoebe. Glancing away, Finn shook her again, saying, "Phoebe... Wake up..." Phoebe rolled over on her back, exposing a pair of knockers that would have given Simone's serious competition. Finn almost jumped back. That was what finally woke the Flame King. Sitting up with an ear-piercing scream, Phoebe flailed at him.

"Sorry... sorry," said Finn. The elemental woman sat up, face gone red hot. She'd left her armor behind in favor of taking on the ship in her most powerful form. Now she was naked as the day she was born with nothing to fashion into clothing in sight and no strength to change form again. "Not your fault," sighed Phoebe. "Thanks for saving me," sighed Finn. "No prob, Bob," replied the elemental with a giggle. That was just the way he used to say it to her, and he too laughed and grinned.

Serious again, she asked, "where are we?" "Dunno," sighed Finn. "In all the chaos, I kind of lost track." Nodding, Phoebe asked, "your dad... is he...? Did we win?" Concentrating for a moment, Finn sighed, "still alive." He nodded in the direction of his father. There were still seven of the guys from the Crystal Prison alive. It appeared he'd managed to scratch one off the list. "Bonnie," asked Phoebe? "She was on that ship with him when you smashed it," sighed Finn. Sharp intake of breath and then Phoebe was hugging him, offering sympathy.

Finn was at once shocked by the feel of that. Phoebe. Hugging him. And he wasn't burning to a crisp. It was warm–almost unpleasantly so–but it wasn't painful. At the same time, Phoebe was starkers and absolutely beautiful, and he was close to having a massive, embarrassing boner. And his ex was somebody else's girlfriend now, and Bonnie might be dead now. Finn shifted uncomfortably to relieve the pressure against his boner from the awkward position he now sat in.

Pulling back, Phoebe said, "she could still be alive, Finn. If your dad survived, she might be alive too." Finn nodded. It was a hope. Glancing back at the lava ocean, she said, "ain't we a pair. Your dad's a bigger turd than mine, and that's saying a lot." Finn laughed. "Think we could fit him in the jar with your dad," he asked? "Maybe," laughed Phoebe. Taking off his wrecked shirt, he handed it to her, saying, "here... Maybe that'll help you get warmed up again." "Still a gentleman," laughed Phoebe, as she slipped his shirt on over her bust. "It'll... It'll probably get burned up when I recover my strength..." Finn shrugged. He didn't care. It was just an old shirt.

Climbing painfully to his feet, he said, "I'll go see what I can gather up to help you feed..." "You're hurt," she murmured. "Not as bad as the time we kissed," laughed Finn. He'd had second and third degree burns on his face, lips, and body. Bonnie had threatened to kick the shit out of him for that.

Finn staggered around, gathering up branches and dried grass–really anything that would burn. As he piled it, he was conscious of his ex girlfriend's eyes on him. He couldn't really help wanting to look at her. He'd forgotten just how beautiful Phoebe was. After a day of madness, a little feminine company would sure have been nice. He'd kind of gotten used to getting home and having Simone massage his aching back or clean him up.

Piling the last of the materials nearby, he suddenly had an epiphany. "Hey, Phoebes," said he. "Why don't you go for a dip in the lava?" "Because I'm so weak, I don't have any real control, Finn," sighed the elemental. "I could go critical and do some real damage." She would have to get her strength back the slow way. "Oh," mumbled the human. _Guess I have to watch you for a while, then._ Squatting there, he got out his fire-starter and got a fire going. Carefully adding fuel, he got it blazing hot and motioned for her to get closer.

"Uh...," sighed Phoebe. "What," asked Finn? Blushing, she said, "I don't want to burn up your shirt, Finn. I was hoping you wouldn't be too embarrassed to have me sitting here... uh... you know." "I'll turn my back," said the hero. Blushing, she said, "you're my ex. You don't have to." He almost pointed out that he'd never actually seen her in the buff, but then again if she didn't mind, why should he? Finn pulled his torn up shirt back on and then sat there, enjoying the view as his ex-girlfriend sat there absorbing the heat from the fire.

From time to time he'd get up and go out for more fuel, returning to find Phoebe still sitting there in the buff. "You don't have to hide it," laughed the elemental woman. She meant his now-chronic boner. Finn blushed. Chuckling at his embarrassment, she added, "I think it's kind of sweet that you still think I'm attractive." "Ch'yeah," laughed Finn as he scratched behind his ear. "You're quite literally smokin'... If it wouldn't burn up the planet, I'd totally want to jump you." Phoebe stiffened at that painful reminder of her condition.

Finn winced as he realized what he'd said. "I'm sorry, Phoebes," he sighed. "I'm still a butt." "No," said the elemental. "You're... you're trying to be a friend, Finn. It's ok. I... I'm still trying to get used to it. All my people think this power is a blessing, but for me it's just been a curse. My dad tried to ice me over it... I lost the man I loved over it. Now I have to drift through life... without any real contact with anybody." She sounded really sad, which didn't help him in not feeling like a jerk.

Patting the ground beside her, she said, "for the moment I'm safe, Finn. Have a seat." Painfully he sat down. "Boy, you're a mess," said the elemental. Finn chuckled. "Here," said she. "Lay down. Cinnamon Bun told me heat's good for injured muscle..." Wondering if they weren't getting a little too far afield, Finn nonetheless did just that, stretching out on the warm ground. At least it wasn't the Ice-Kingdom. Phoebe stripped his shirt off. Then, carefully, she began to massage his aching back, channeling a little of her heat into his muscles. Finn moaned softly at the feel of that. Seeing that it was actually doing him some good, the beautiful bonfire began to knead and squeeze the muscle. She'd seen him shirtless a few times, but she'd forgotten just how many scars he had. There were scars criss-crossed over scars now, and she found herself admonishing him, "Finn! You're being a reckless _jerk_." Hazily, he glanced at her.

Smacking the back of his head, she said, "you're turning yourself into a wreck." Blushing, he said, "I... I quit adventuring. I got a steady job now." Somewhat mollified, Phoebe continued her work. "I'd miss you if you were gone," she told him. Even now, she missed having him in her life. Sometimes she dropped in on Simone as much to see him as to see her friend. Straddling his back now, she went to work, daubing some of the Cyclops-tears from his backpack on the still-festering wounds from his latest attempt to destroy himself. Finn sighed as he felt the pain slowly ebb away.

"Better," she whispered as the heat from her body soaked into his bones. Finn moaned softly. Grinning, she climbed off him, announcing, "roll over." His head came up, and his face was red hot. Sternly, she said, "I know you have a boner, Finn. You've had one since I woke up." With a sigh, Finn did as she asked. She sat down on his hips again and began massaging his aching arms and chest. In spite of his embarrassment, it did feel good. It felt good from his head all the way down to his achy balls. Having her naked on top of him was certainly not helping his erection go away. Looking at her body, he found himself bemused. She was completely anatomically correct, from the big, wide nips on the end of her big boobies, to the dainty button peeking out of her snatch, Phoebe was all woman.

His mind wandered, wondering what it would be like to rail her. She was actually _touchable_ right now. Of course, if kissing her made her hot enough to blow up the planet, he _knew_ railing her was out of the question. "Somebody's excited," teased Phoebe, as she rubbed her snatch along his dick. Grinning at him, she said, "Simone told me it was big, but I didn't realize how big, babe." With a devilish smile, she said, "it's probably a good thing I am unstable. I'd be tempted to let you fuck me... just to see what it was like..."

Pausing, her hot snatch separated from his dong by his pants, his boxers, and nothing else, Phoebe seemed to think long and hard. Sliding back along his thighs, she began unfastening his pants. Finn sat up, shouting, "Phoebe!" Phoebe shoved him back, saying, "I'm not _that_ crazy, Finn..." Smirking at him, she added, "but you seriously need some relief." Fishing out his pecker, she stroked it gently. Her touch felt almost painfully hot. "Close your eyes, babe," said she. "Imagine anything you want..." Chuckling, she said, "even me..."

With Phoebe jerking on his dick, Finn lay his head back, closed his eyes, and imagined...

Finn rolled the beautiful elemental woman on her back, stroking those big knockers of hers and rubbing his face against them, feeling her scalding warmth. She was surprisingly firm against him, which he knew he should have expected. He'd held her two or three times after her fire was accidentally put out. She would be almost normal then–if unconscious. His hands slipped lower, exploring her hot body. His hands caressed her flat belly and then stroked her broad hips. She was built a lot like Simone–broad in the beam, with a big, juicy ass.

Slipping under her, he squeezed and palmed that big, round butt, pinching the flesh between his fingers. Phoebe sighed into his hair, telling him she was enjoying his touch. Taking one of her plump boobies in his mouth, he sucked on the tip, swirling his tongue around, causing her to moan softly. His finger touched her button, teasing at it and rubbing back and forth along it. "Oooah," moaned the sexy bonfire, as her hips began to move, wriggling around beneath him. Those thick, meaty thighs eased apart, giving him access.

Phoebe's hands came up, and she slipped her fingers through his hair as he continued to torment her big balloons. Back arching, hot breath steaming through his hair, the proud beauty shuddered and shook in climax. She told him of dreaming about him doing this to her. The hotter she got, the hotter _he_ got. He wanted to do it to her. He knew it was wrong, but he wanted to do it so badly. Reaching down, she pulled his hand away from her hot gash, whispering to him to take her. Nodding, Finn aimed his fat log at her opening and pushed.

Phoebe's hands clawed at his back as that huge thing eased inside her. As he slid in a little further, she shrieked in his ear. For him it was a lot like climbing into a hot bath. It was _painfully_ hot against his dick, and he almost wanted to stop. Yet, the longer he stayed in her oven, the better it felt as he got used to the heat. Now he began to rail the sexy bonfire, sliding his rod in and out of her hot oven. Over and over he railed her, going faster and faster. Her hands slid down to his butt, grabbing him and pulling on him, urging him to do it harder still. He could feel her getting warmer. He'd have to stop soon–to pull it out or risk being irreparably injured. The hero sped up, riding her hard. Pressing his lips to hers, he slipped his tongue in her mouth, feeling her hot breath as her fingers left mild burns down his back. Her legs wrapped around his waist, causing pain to shoot up his spine and sending him crashing over the edge.

"Wow," said Phoebe. "So that's what human stuff looks like." It had hurt a little when it splashed her–like his tears. At the same time, she didn't mind. Climbing off him, she lay down beside him, saying, "did you like it?" Finn nodded. "We... we're not going to tell Simone," said she. "It's our little secret. And... it's not like we really did it, right?" Again Finn nodded. Finn pulled his pants up. Then, sitting up, he pulled on his shirt. With a sigh, Phoebe rolled over on her back, wishing he could have done something for _her_. Hell, she wished he could _do_ her. Sitting up, she said, "I'm gonna' go lay down in that nice fire you made for me." Giving him a peck on the cheek, she got up and went and laid down in her fire. Finn lay himself down nearby and went back to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Phoebe had conjured a new dress for herself when Finn woke up, using her elemental power to form the volcanic sand around them into fine crystalline threads. "Wow, FP," whistled Finn. This one was the sexiest thing he'd seen her wearing yet. Cut low between her big boobies and hugging tight to her body, it shielded her girl-bits from view, but seemed almost to _flaunt_ her sensual nature. "How do you do that, anyway," he asked? Whenever she transformed into raw flame and back, she left whatever dress she was wearing behind. He'd always wondered why he'd never seen her naked. "I make them up on the spot," said Phoebe. "I use the dirt to make glass thread." She had dress-making material wherever she went. Except in Bonnie's kingdom where everything was _sugar_.

"I sent up a signal," said the elemental. "We should have help in an hour or so. You hungry?" Warily, Finn nodded. Noting that look, Phoebe growled, "oh, you're not still upset about that soup! I said I was sorry!" Finn blushed. "What we got," he asked? "Took a while, but I found some meat for you to eat," said the sexy bonfire. "Pickings are scarce for human food this close to the ocean of fire, so it took a while." She produced a skewer of roasted rabbit, and Finn gratefully dug in.

It wasn't seasoned, and it was a little burnt, but after the day he'd just had, the rabbit hit the spot. As they waited, the two chatted, talking about Finn's family and the sudden revelation that he was no longer the last human. "Haven't really been last for a while," said Finn. "Susan's still out there somewhere." A part of him had once believed that he and Susan should have been rebuilding the human race. He just didn't like Susan that way. Now he knew the truth, he wasn't really sure he liked even being human anymore. Jabbing him in the chest with a stick, Phoebe said, "I'm not going to listen to you say that, Finn. My people are supposed to be evil too, remember? I'm proud of what I am, and I'm making things better. You need to do the same." Blushing, Finn nodded.

Help came around noon in the form of a small army of elementals with Cinnamon Bun leading them. Finn was a little embarrassed to see the walking pastry after that crazy encounter with Phoebe, and he was glad she had managed to conjure a dress. He was also happy to see Rattleballs, Banana-Man, and Huntress safe and sound along with Betty and Simon. Smiling, Simon slapped him on the back, declaring, "my boy, next time remind me to follow _your_ plan." Finn actually gave him a 'bro-hug'.

"Well, Finn," chuckled Banana-Man, "that's another truck you cost me!" Finn laughed. "Yeah," said he, "sorry..." In the middle of everyone's laughter, Huntress, who'd been standing off to one side, stalked up to him and socked him in the eye. "Ow, dammit," howled Finn! Picking himself up off the ground, he stared at her retreating back. "She was concerned," said Simon. Betty asked the question that was on several people's minds, "where's Bonnie?" With a heavy-hearted sigh, Finn answered, "he took her. They were on the smaller ship." "She's dead," asked Simon? With a glance at Phoebe, Finn replied, "we don't know. Phoebe shot it down, but I can still feel my dad. He's still out there, headed northwest..."

"We need to pursue," said Simon. "He may be holding her hostage." "I am going to pursue," said Finn. "I need you guys to stay here and see if you can track some of the lifeboats. Those guys are still pretty dangerous." Phoebe said, "their ship is almost gone. We'll make sure it disappears." Finn thanked her. Turning to Cinnamon Bun, he said, "need a ride, CB. Can you take me to the north side of the Fire Kingdom?" "You're going to need help," muttered Huntress, as she rejoined the gathering. Irritated by her behavior, Finn frowned at her. Calmly, she reminded him, you've never been north of the Fire Kingdom. I have." "Ok," said Cinnamon Bun. "Ticket for two."

Saying goodbye to his friends and promising to check in, Finn climbed onto Jake 2. Huntress climbed up after him, and Cinnamon Bun commanded his pet to take to the skies. As the 'shore' receded into the distance, Huntress slipped her arms around Finn's waist, sending a shiver down his spine. If he was to admit it to himself, that felt strangely good. Part of him wanted to know why she'd hit him, but he needed her too much to risk a fight. Clamping down on his irritation and curiosity both, Finn just went with the flow.

Cinnamon Bun brought them to the far side of the vast ocean of molten stone, depositing them in the ash and grass-strewn wasteland beyond. The pastry asked, "you got my number, right, Finn?" "Yeah, CB," said the hero. "Thanks for the ride." Without another word, the candy-person turned and headed back across the wastes, anxious to return to his lady. "Would have been nice to ride a little longer," grumped Huntress, as she turned towards the shattered spaceship. With a shrug, Finn said, "he worries about Phoebe when she's out of sight." The wood nymph snorted, "not sure what she sees in him anyway. Sort of traded down." Finn goggled at her, but Huntress was already moving on.

"C'mon, donk," said she, as she walked across to the wrecked spaceship. As they walked, Finn said, "it's platonic. They can't really do anything." Her eyes came over to his, and he could see suspicion there. "Phoebes is unstable," sighed Finn. "She can't really touch or be touched without risking a meltdown..." "Huh," rumbled Huntress. "Guess that means..." "It wouldn't have worked anyway," said Finn. "She's..." "Made of fire," chuckled the wizard. That made her laugh. She could just imagine him trying to hit it and burning his dick off. Blushing, Finn changed the subject, asking, "you ok?" "Fine, donk," replied the wizard. "Thanks for asking." She was between right now. She was somewhere between Sexy Huntress and Evil-Wizard Huntress, and Finn resolved to do everything he could to keep it that way.

The shuttle was a twisted wreck with alloy ribs jutting out of its broken skin and smashed bits of this and that scattered everywhere. Nearby, they found the corpse of one of the aliens. "Rebog the Destroyer," rumbled Finn. "Looks like you bit the big one, buddy." "You know this turd," asked Huntress? "He was my dad's cellie," said Finn. "Just seven more to go." Plus his dad.

Finn moved to go inside, and the wizard stopped him. "What," he asked? "She could be in there, Finn," rumbled the wizard. Something about the way she said that. Did she... _care_? Finn said, "I need to know." "Suit yourself, donk," muttered the wizard, as she folded her arms. Finn brushed it off, in spite of the fear that he felt. He knew she was right, just as he knew how he'd react if he saw Bonnie's body. At the same time, his love of Bonnie meant he _had_ to go and see for himself. Climbing through a hole in the side of the wreck, Finn scanned left and right. There was blood everywhere–he imagined a lot of it was Rebog's–but no Bonnie.

Climbing out of the ship, he whistled in relief. Straightening, he said, "c'mon. They've got a head-start, and I want to catch 'em." The wizard muttered curses, but she set off after him. They spoke little as they slowly made their way across the blasted landscape. In the distance they could see the decayed remains of cities seemingly on every horizon. There were a lot of them. "This was the cradle of human civilization," rumbled the wizard. "Lots of cool stuff here." She used to come here to loot for things she could sell in the civilized lands south of the Fire Kingdom.

Fascinated, Finn found himself wanting to come back to explore. "Lots of mutants," rumbled Huntress. "The most dangerous live here. Some of them make the goo-guys seem like the people next door." Far from deterring him, that actually had him even more excited. "Your honey'll never allow it," chuckled the wizard. "She keeps your nads in her purse, remember?" Finn flushed. He'd promised to give up being stupid for Simone. She could see it in his eyes. He missed his old life. A lot. "Maybe you picked the wrong girl," said she. "Huh," he asked? With a shrug, she said, "maybe you should have found one that likes to go out." Blushing, Finn nodded. He'd sort of jumped in with Simone without even thinking about it. He was crazy in love with her, but he still missed his old life. How messed up was that?

"Not messed up, donk," said the wood nymph. "That's... It's just real life. Having kids sounds like fun until you see what you have to let go of." Finn nodded. He kind of understood how Jake felt. At the same time, he couldn't just walk away from Simone and Billy. They needed him, and he was responsible for Billy being here. "Sounds like a problem, donk," said she. Finn changed the subject. He wanted to hear more about the ruins. If he couldn't go there, at least he could learn about it.

Huntress happily obliged him, talking about all the fun things she'd done out here and all the crazy shit she'd seen. Finn ate it up, listening in fascination as she spoke. It all excited him, but especially the magic. He was really excited about magic. "You sure you don't wanna' be an apprentice," asked Huntress? "Your pals seem to like it." Finn flushed. "I'd kind of have to find somebody who could teach me part time," said Finn. His face wore that cute 'concentrating' frown of his. Huntress teased the hook a little, suggesting, "maybe I might be willing to do it for the right price..." Finn squealed, "name it! As long as it's not Simone... or the treehouse... or-or the baby..." "I'll think about it," said the wizard.

The sun was setting by now, and Finn decided to call a halt. It had been a long day already. They'd traveled a pretty good distance, and, judging by the feeling he had, they had gotten farther than his dad. Ahead of them was a raging river that would take a fair amount of work to get across, and Finn decided to put his energy into building some kind of raft to help them. The Finn-Sword did yeoman service, chopping through the thick, twisted trees that grew at the water's edge. The wizard watched as he worked his way through the exercise. Then, as he lay himself down to rest, she announced, "I'm gonna' go wash, donk." Finn glanced up at her in puzzlement. Then he realized that they both stank pretty badly. "Uhh... yeah... I think I'll go wash too." Her eyes burned into his a moment, and he added, "uh... but not where you're washing." Chuckling, she said, "you sure, donk? Might be fun..." Face hot, he glanced away. Rolling her eyes, Huntress set off for the river.

Miles away under the same stars, Bonnibel Bubblegum sat chained to a heavy steel anchor driven into the ground wearing a tattered silk nightie that had earned her endless hungry looks from the murderers gathered around her. If that weren't bad enough, it was doing exactly _zero_ to keep her warm. Strangely enough, she might have wondered what Finn would think about what she was wearing if she wasn't in terror of her life right now. Her mind went back to him again and again. He'd gotten on the ship. He'd even managed to destroy it. Her little prophecy was coming true, after a fashion. The only question was would she live long enough to see the end.

She'd been stalling as much as she could–aided and abetted by the injuries some of the aliens had sustained. She didn't walk fast, and she made Martin all but drag her. He still needed her for something, and she had a good idea what that something was. She'd been out in the wastes long ago, surveying the land and examining whatever artifacts and remnants of the old world she could find, and there were some very interesting sites north of the Fire Kingdom. Martin wanted a way off this world. He'd lost this round, but he still won if he could secure another ship. With no advance warning, the people of Ooo wouldn't be able to protect the site of the deadly weapon buried in Phoebe's kingdom. Martin needed a way to contact his distant masters.

The evil human had developed a strange sort of _respect_ for her. He respected her mind and her abilities with science and technology. He knew what she was capable of accomplishing. He'd witnessed it first hand. Today he'd asked her about Rattleballs, and he'd hardly been surprised to find she'd had an army of mechanical soldiers to defend her kingdom. He'd laughed in her face when she explained why she'd scrapped them. Bonnie imagined he would have been far less squeamish, and, in retrospect, she was inclined to agree with him. If she'd still had her army, she would be sipping tea in her lab right now, and the aliens would all be dead. That was a problem to ponder another day. Just now she wanted to get through this without getting raped or murdered.

Just now, her captor was talking with his lieutenant. His body language told her that he was concerned about their progress–or lack thereof. He'd been anxious about that, and Bonnie completely understood his fear. Finn had managed to take away all his advantages–his army, his ship, even their weapons. They were down to a few handheld guns now when they had started with flying machines and laser cannon. What would happen if Finn caught them? Things that she'd heard suggested that the last encounter had scared Finn's father. Unfortunately that fear had found focus. Bonnie thought that the man with the broken leg wasn't going to survive this night. Evil as the soon-to-be-deceased was, it disgusted Bonnie to see Finn's father countenance abandoning an ally in that fashion.

Done with his conversation, the evil man came strolling across to her as if she'd summoned him with her eyes. "Cold, Princess," asked the evil human as he stopped before her? He seemed to make the most innocuous look into a leer. Bonnie could hardly believe this man was Finn's dad. Finn had never been anything but a gentleman towards her. "Where are we going," asked Bonnie? "Don't you worry your pretty head over it," rumbled the cruel man.

Changing the subject, he said, "they say you're older'n you look, Princess." Bonnie blushed as she remembered Finn saying she was a 'bazillion years old'. That had sort of stung her woman's pride a little. Squatting down before her, he said, "woman like you ought to have a real man." She might have retorted that she already had one. Unfortunately it would have just antagonized him into hitting her again. And it was a lie anyway. She'd lost Finn. She'd lost him to Simone and her own inability to prioritize her life.

Coldly, she said, "I'd only outlive you anyway, Mr. Mertens, so don't waste your breath." "Oooh," he chuckled! "A response!" Leaning forward, he said, "maybe, Princess. Right now, though, you living a long time seems like it might be in doubt. I'd think twice about stalling tomorrow if I were you." Without another word, he got up and walked away.

Elsewhere, Finn handed Huntress a chunk of the wild chicken he'd caught. It was stringy and a little gamey, but it sure beat empty stomachs. It hadn't been a bad day at all.

If you didn't count the whole 'Bonnie's been kidnaped' thing.

"Thinking about her," asked the wizard? Finn nodded. It was a pretty safe bet Bonnie hadn't spent the day talking about adventures or enjoying the company of a new friend. Finn honestly feared that she was being beat up. Or worse. He knew what rape was in the vaguest sense. He knew that really bad dudes didn't always _ask_ a girl if she wanted to do it. Judging by what Banana-Man had said, he had the unpleasant feeling that his dad had latched onto Bonnie as somebody he wanted to do that to, and it left Finn feeling sick inside. He'd let that fucker out. Every time he thought about it, his insides twisted up a little more. He just _knew_ that his dad would be all the more willing to hurt Peebles because of him. He'd said as much when he was threatening Simone.

"You can't help her if you don't sleep, donk," murmured Huntress. Finn nodded. Yawning, he admitted that it was time they got to bed. They still had to get across the river in the morning. Taking off her cloak, the wizard said, "you can share my cloak." Finn _was_ a little cold. After spending the night near the Fire Kingdom, the air by the river actually felt pretty flippin' cold right now. Coming to her side, Finn lay down beside her and let her spread the cloak over him too. The wizard put her back to him and scrunched herself down against him. Finn shivered in fear at that. The last time he'd gone to sleep with a girl, he'd ended up sucking on Betty's booby. She'd been wearing a sweater at the time, but still... "C'mon, donk," rumbled the wood nymph. "I don't bite, and there's only so much cloak. If you want to stay warm, huddle up." With a heavy sigh, Finn turned and slipped his arm around her and snuggled in against her back, conscious the whole time of how beautiful she was.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Day five of the pursuit.

Finn woke to the familiar warmth of Huntress's body against him. Conscious of the morning woody he had, Finn rolled away from her. He'd gotten good at that–waking up before she did so she didn't find out he was having pervy thoughts about her. The last thing he wanted was to offend the touchy wizard when he needed her the most. They had been getting steadily closer. Today he thought they would catch up. Huntress rolled over on her back with a sigh and stared up at the sky. She felt like an addict. Every night she got with him was like a gift. Every morning, she felt like she was coming down from a high. Unfortunately they didn't have the time for anything else, giving her no chance to take him for herself.

Rising, Finn stoked up the meager fire they had. It would provide a little heat to warm them. Then they'd have to get moving. "He's just a few miles away," said Finn. "We should catch him today." "They still have numbers and a hostage," she reminded him. Finn nodded. He'd been thinking about that. "I'm thinking of ambushing them," he said. If they hustled, they could get ahead of the aliens and jump them. Nodding, the wizard agreed, "good plan." With the fire stoked, Finn made them up some hot tea to give them a little energy. Then it was time to get moving.

Up ahead, Martin Mertens sat contemplating the fat-removal surgery that he'd been putting off. He was exhausted. Honestly he felt _whipped_. They weren't making much better progress than before, but this time _he_ was the holdup. Only now he didn't have the excuse of the injured man. He'd heard the whispers and seen the looks. Some of his crew were thinking of changing leadership.

The evil human had spent a chilly night sleeping against a rock with one eye open and his hand on his pistol. The other had been wrapped up in the princess's chain so the little bitch didn't try sneaking away again. She felt it too. Things were changing. The group dynamic was changing. The majority of the survivors no longer feared him. It was only a matter of time before the mutiny came.

The fat human forced his creaky bones up off the ground. Muttering curses, he holstered his pistol and shouted for his men to get up and get moving. They were hungry, and irritable. A couple of them had suggested eating the princess. They had only been half-joking. Martin had had to remind them of the need to build a transmitter to call for rescue. Since the engineer seemed to have gone down with the ship, they needed the little pink honey at least a little longer.

It took far longer to get moving than he needed. They were making poor progress. His boy was catching up. He felt strangely _proud_ of the kid. He was strong like his dad. He'd been as good as his word. But it left Martin just as dead if he caught up. Fatherly pride was one thing. This was survival. Jerking the princess's chain, he growled, "get up, bitch. It's time to go."

Bonnibel Bubblegum scrambled to her feet, feeling the chill herself. She was no longer really faking her fatigue. She went to bed cold every night and lay shivering until the early hours of the morning. Then she was forced to march barefoot across the rocky wasteland. She was starving. She was filthy–she scarcely saw how any of them still thought she was worth a go–and she wasn't sure she would survive this death-march whether Martin decided to end her life or not. As the group set out, she found herself staggering along, feeling the chill and the exhaustion in every bone.

Once they got moving, Martin _kept_ them moving. He didn't let anybody slow down. He didn't so much as offer them a break. When Bonnie professed that she needed to go, he told her to piss on herself. The prideful princess resolutely tried to hold it as long as she could. Only when the evil tyrant himself had to stop was anybody allowed to take a break. Half the faces there had to squat or piss, and nobody laughed at the princess when she did the same. The break was all too brief, though, and soon they were all marching along through the dust once more.

The ugly blue alien wanted to shoot Martin. Bonnie had overheard him talking. She'd even begun trying to use that as the basis for an escape plan. If she could grab Martin's gun while they were reacting to his death, she could free herself and maybe make good her own escape. Finn was behind them somewhere. If she could reach him, she would have his protection.

Just now they were approaching the ruins of a small town. It lay directly in their path, and she'd been watching it all morning. She'd seen many such villages on the horizon as they'd steadily tromped northward. Knowing what many such villages contained, she'd been somewhat afraid of even spending time in their vicinity. A part of her wanted to warn Martin. She had no desire to be killed by monsters or slain by the wretched inhabitants. At the same time, that might be a better fate than what Martin had in store for her. If she was lucky, she'd be forced into being his mistress. He'd rape her body and mind both, forcing her to use her knowledge and skills for his gain. If she was unlucky, she'd live a short, violent life and be disposed of when something more satisfying came along.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "the ruins are dangerous. We should probably go around them." Every face there turned towards her. Flushing, Bonnie said, "look, I don't want to help you..." Throwing her hands in the air, she added, "this is purely about survival. These old ruins are often infested with mutants and monsters, sometimes numbering in the thousands." "Thanks for the warning, babe," said Martin, with a leer. He brushed her cheek in mock-affection. His men were looking at him now. Clearly they believed her. A look at her face showed that she was maybe telling him the truth. Still, if she was expecting Martin to back down from a fight, she was mistaken. He was going straight on through.

"Quit y'er lookin'," growled the mercenary! "We keep going! The longer we delay, the better the chance is that we'll get hit by those fire-creatures again." All of them were justifiably terrified of the Flame-Bitch. They moved. As they got closer and closer to the ruins, the fear ratcheted up and then went up another few notches until even Martin was thinking hard about his decision. They had thought this world was a pushover. Cratered and scarred by a cataclysmic war meant to shatter the crust, the planet should have had nothing to oppose them. Instead, they'd found civilizations that could go toe-to-toe with some of the galaxy's mightiest armies. He'd come here with an army and now all he had was the hard core of his most loyal supporters, and even they were starting to lose faith. What if there _was_ something there?

The aliens entered the ruins, snaking their way through in a long, thin column. Martin put half his men up front and the rest behind him, leaving himself in the middle with Bonnie. Bonnie kept her eyes open as best she could, but it was hard to watch the surroundings when she was busy trying not to slice her bare feet open. The bastard simply would _not_ give her any shoes to wear or anything else for that matter. She'd been considering trying to _make_ something. All that stopped her was fear that he'd just take them away. As the terrain constricted around them and the going got tougher, they found themselves going single-file. Bonnie shivered in fear. She'd lost a dozen Banana Guards on a trip into the ruins like this once. That had been the last time she came rooting for tech up here.

Martin himself was in a state akin to panic as the ruins closed in around him. His eyes darted this way and that, as if he expected ambush from around any corner and from any darkened doorway. Paranoia was a dangerous thing, but it had served the evil mercenary well. He kept his eyes moving, ceaselessly scanning and never stopping in one place too long. His ears strained for the tiniest sound that might indicate a threat. That was why _he_ heard the noise. Before anybody could react, the ugly fat man jammed his fist into a darkened doorway under a collapsed apartment block and snatched a small, thin woman out. "Well, well, well," rumbled the evil human, as he drew his pistol.

Up ahead, Finn the Human crouched in the darkness under an overhang waiting silently. They should be here any minute. His eyes scanned the rubble-choked landscape around him. He would have to draw fire for quite a while until Huntress could close the trap. He had a number of spots here in this open area that provided places to get cover. He would just have to play it cool and stay focused. Hand gripping his blade, he took deep, calming breaths. He was close enough he could almost smell his dad's bad breath.

As time ticked by, his mind wanted to wander. He could almost _smell_ PB's perfume. He hadn't realized just how much he missed her and how much he still loved her. It was a sign of just how crazy his life was. He was madly in love with Simone, and he thought of her every hour of every day. At the same time, he was totes crazy about Phoebe and still in love with Bonnie. If he let himself admit it, he even had a thing for Marceline. He was, in short, kind of a mess. He knew he needed to resolve that, but he didn't know how.

Before the navel-gazing got too far, though, noise at the other side of the clearing got his attention. Shaking off his daze, Finn strained to see what was coming. That was when the day exploded in thunder and blinding light. The aliens opened fire at range and lit up the clearing. Thunderous blasts from chunks of vaporizing concrete and steel deafened him. Finn got small and did his best to ride out the violent storm of noise.

Finally the cacophony ended. Finn carefully checked himself over. By some miracle they hadn't targeted the place where he lay. As his eyes refocused, he made out his dad, standing there with his ugly band. Only instead of having PB with him, Huntress stood there with chains around her arms. She'd gotten caught, and she looked about as humiliated as could be. Finn's only thought was concern. His father wasn't above hurting girls, and he knew it. "Hey, kiddo," announced the evil man! "You still alive?!" He sounded pleased with himself. It was showtime.

Indeed, Martin _was_ pretty pleased. It looked like he'd finally gotten the drop on the kid. After days of ambushes and pursuit, he'd turned the tables. Maybe now things would start to go right. Finn found himself faced with a dozen hostile aliens, all armed with their deadly weapons. His dad held Huntress in front of him. "Hey, kiddo," said Martin. "Figured maybe we didn't quite get you, but we had to try." "Let her go," retorted Finn.

"Oh," chuckled Martin? "This another of your cunts? You sure must like mutant pussy." He had one meaty fist wrapped around one of Huntress's antenna, and he was twisting it cruelly. "Caught this bitch trying to sneak up behind us," said Martin, as he bent that stalk almost in half. Knowing how sensitive those were, Finn was immediately enraged. "Stop it," howled Finn! "You're hurting her!" Martin grinned at him. That was the point. "Not sure how a sap like you could be _my_ kid," laughed the villain.

Coolly, he held Huntress out in front of him, growling, "you hittin' this, kid?" When Finn didn't respond, he said, "no? Maybe I'll make her _my_ bitch. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm... I'd hit that." And he cruelly squeezed one of her breasts for emphasis. "She was willing to lie for you, kiddo," laughed Martin. "Said you were dead. 'Course I knew she was lieing... Just like the pink one. Must be in love with you. You must wear the pussy out to have them all so loyal..." Grinning, he grabbed his crotch and added, "like father like son." A humiliated Finn blushed to his hair. The evil bastard licked Huntress's face and said, "I'm gonna' show you a good time, honey. Don't you worry." Reaching down, he crudely groped her crotch. "Let. Her. Go," growled Finn. Which amused the aliens to no end.

Some of them had started to creep forward, edging around the clearing to surround their enemy. Martin told his boy, "sorry, kiddo. You kinda' did your old man proud. Gotta' admit that, but I gotta' take you out. You're too much trouble." Giving Huntress another grope, he said, "I'll be thinking of you, when I'm pounding this bitch, and I'll be sure and stop by to fuck the snow-princess before I blow up the Earth. Wouldn't want her to get lonely, ya know."

Just then, one of his mercenaries stepped on the spell-arrow that Finn had wedged into the ground near the entrance to the clearing. The blast hurled him and several of his friends sixty feet into the air. As the bodies came tumbling to earth, Finn rushed forward. He'd learned now to relax his arms and shoulders, letting the sword do all the work, and now the sword rewarded him, swooping and darting, catching gunfire and hurling it back at the source. Huntress and Martin both watched in a state of shocked amazement as the hero tore his way through four more guards.

"I'll kill her," shouted Martin, as he put his pistol to the wizard's head! "I swear t'god I'll blow her fucking brains out!" "And he'll chop you into little pieces," growled the wizard. She was proud of her choice. She was proud to love Finn the Human. He was everything she wanted and then some. A second hidden booby-trap went off, taking two more guards with it. Huntress chose that moment to make her move. Scrunching down, she jammed one of her antennae into her captor's throat. Clutching at his throat, the evil human shoved her forward, straight into the gaping pit the earlier gunfire had opened up. As Finn watched in horror, his best frenemy disappeared.

Shouting curses, Finn rushed forward, heedless of the remaining guards. Fortunately they were too busy beating feet to take advantage. Reaching the crack in the ground, Finn dove in after the wizard. Down, down, down they fell, landing at last in a fetid pool choked with muck and debris. Both landed heavily, and Huntress, striking her head, was immediately knocked unconscious. Before Finn's horrified eyes, his almost-friend began to sink. Shoving the sword into his belt, Finn dove after her.

On the surface, Martin stared down into the hole. It wasn't quite how he was expecting to win, but it was one less problem to deal with. He'd lost three of his best men, but he'd lost a lot of the whiners too. It was time to get going. They could reach that antenna array in another couple of days if they hustled. The evil man chuckled, "s'what you get fer being so hung up on cooch, kid." Shaking his head and laughing, Martin got on his way.

Huntress awoke late that evening in strange surroundings. She was naked, but for her underwear, and wrapped up in a blanket of pine boughs. As she became aware again, she realized that it was the scent of pine that woke her up. It reminded her of her mother's home tree–the place she'd grown up and the family she'd left behind. A pang of loss struck her then, as she realized–really remembered–what she'd walked away from. The weekend socials. The friends. The cousins and sisters and aunts.

She'd left them because she didn't fit into their world. She didn't really enjoy being a passive-aggressive 'victim', and she wasn't enthused about the idea of finding a mate by trapping him and drugging him to get what she wanted. She'd seen a succession of her mom's 'boyfriends' pass through that house, and she'd seen her sisters, both older and younger, sneaking in and out of said 'boyfriend's' room to have a go too. That was the ugly little secret of her world. Her grandmother was still angry with her mother over a man that both had coveted, and they barely spoke.

A glance to her right found Finn the human sitting there tending a fire with his back to her. It was already full dark. "How long," croaked the wood nymph? "Six hours," replied Finn. "You had a big lump on your head." She remembered hitting her head, but nothing else. Her clothes lay next to her makeshift bed looking like they had been meticulously dried. Easing the 'covers' off her, Huntress checked herself over reflexively. Likely he had kept his eyes closed the whole time he was undressing her. He was such an annoying goody-two-shoes.

"You ok," asked Finn? With a heavy sigh, she admitted, "I blew it. I'm sorry..." "It's ok," replied Finn. "We're still close, and I got a bunch of his dudes." He glanced at her out the corner of his eye and asked, "are you good?" She knew what he was really asking. "I can fight," she replied. They were almost out of cyclops tears. He'd prayed that what he had was enough to heal her head injury. Not knowing how bad off Bonnie was, he wanted to save what was left for her. Huntress shook off the rest of the pine boughs. Dusting herself clean of pine needles, she gathered up her pants and shimmied into them.

Her gyrations made him laugh. She might have belted him, but it was kind of funny. Here they were out here in the middle of nowhere, and she'd chosen the worst clothes for the trip. Of course her mind had been on winning a man instead of fighting a battle. When she had her pants on, she put her top back on, so he could finally turn around and face her. "We'll do better next time," said she. "Count on it," agreed Finn.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

Bonnie stumbled along after the pack of alien warriors. She'd had high hopes of getting away, but now, with news that Martin had vanquished Finn and Huntress, her hopes were in the dumper. What had gone wrong? At least Finn got a bunch of them, thought the candy-royal. Martin's fears had been entirely justified. Finn was much more dangerous than the fat man had realized.

Just now Martin was very tight-lipped. Part of that came from his injured throat. Huntress had come close to puncturing his larynx with her antenna. Part of it came from the ugly feeling that they hadn't seen the last of the pair. Bonnie's captor was in an ugly, moody-broody kind of mood, and his crew of killers were walking on eggshells around him. He'd lost three of his most loyal, but he still had five of his fellow prisoners left. The rest of the pack were mostly junior-level pirates–creatures who'd signed on for opportunity–and even Bonnie could sense they were unreliable.

Martin kept them walking across the day, headed steadily northwest, and he had savagely beaten the one man to question the orders. He took great pains to remind them that he was in charge, and anybody who disagreed could forfeit his life. Bonnie also was walking on eggshells. He still needed her, but that need could get quickly counterbalanced by his anger if she pushed too far.

Towards mid-day, the ugly villain himself had to stop to relieve himself. Leaving her in the hands of one of his minions, he slipped off the trail to do the deed. Bonnie had gone that morning, and, sad to say, she was so dehydrated that she hadn't really had to go since. As she sat waiting, the creature holding her chain decided to relieve himself too. He passed her off to one of the lesser creatures–a development that chilled Bonnie to the core. She feared them. After hearing some of them suggest they murder her for food, she was afraid that their hunger to get home might get outweighed by their hunger for sustenance.

The evil creature squatted down beside her and coolly asked, "can you really build a transmitter?" Bonnie looked up at him in puzzlement, and he said, "you're a primitive..." "I built a city full of working electric generators and lights," retorted Bonnie. "My kingdom has running water and electric trains. We have telephones and radios and televisions... And I brought all of that about through my own work."

The creature seemed to consider that. Nodding, he said, "he won't keep a bargain with you, Princess." Bonnie nodded. She knew. Martin wanted to use her. "I can," said the alien. The princess frowned up at him. "I have a wife," said the creature, "and a brood of my own. I only want to get home to see them again. You and these others... You can keep this primitive land." Bonnie glanced at the chain in his hand–the one that led to the shackle bolted around her neck.

"My friends and I," said the alien, "we're willing to free you. If you build us a transmitter, we will leave this place and never return." "And how would you do that," replied Bonnie? "I intend to kill Martin," said the alien. "He's put my life and the future of my brood in jeopardy. I want nothing further from him." Bonnie coolly considered that, working her way through all the ways this creature could betray her.

It was a bad deal. Even a fool could see that he had all the cards. He didn't have to free her. He didn't have to do anything more than what Martin was doing. Even if he was entirely sincere, he lacked the power to make his fellows adhere to the deal. _But it's the only chance I've got,_ thought the princess. No-one else was offering a deal, and she knew what fate Martin had in store for her. "Alright," said the Princess. "Deal."

Martin returned shortly thereafter, and the unhappy little group set out once more. Bonnie's sharp mind had refocused. There was a way out of this. She wasn't sure she trusted the other aliens, but she thought she could exploit the chaos. All that day the little group trooped up and down hill, skirting the ugly, ruined villages. Martin was taking no chances now. They'd seen a few goo-bros from a distance, and he wanted to avoid another fight that would reduce the ranks of his already-depleted force. They were close. Bonnie knew they were getting closer to the abandoned radio-telescopes that sat near the ocean out here. If he mean to build a transmitter of some sort, that was his best hope.

Towards the setting of the sun, the evil human finally called a halt. They'd press on in the morning. Right now, it was time to rest. Much as she always did, Bonnie chose a spot where she could watch the entirety of that pack of killers and rapists. She never strayed too far from Martin, letting him _think_ that she was counting on him for protection. The reality was a lot less esoteric. She wanted his gun. When the others shot him dead, she intended to grab it and shoot her way free. Sitting there slugging down a packet of the awful chemical rations they'd saved from the crashed shuttle, Martin told her, "just a little bit longer, honey. We'll get you all cleaned up." His eyes told just what would happen when she was all cleaned up. Much as it pained her, she was happy to stay dirty.

Bonnie ignored him, just as she did every night and most of the day. She pretended he simply didn't exist. Instead, she focused her mind on the tech she could get from the crashed shuttle–the tech she _would_ get. She would improve the Gumball Guardians with stronger defenses and more powerful weapons. She'd even been considering violating a number of covenants and building an army. She'd been the driving force behind the covenant limiting the armies on Ooo. Now she saw that the time for the covenant was passed. If this was the sort of threat that existed outside the realm, then they needed stronger defenses in a hurry.

That thought–and thoughts of what that would mean for her–brought a touch of sadness. She wanted to rekindle things with Finn. She had a deep-seated inner fantasy that somehow, some way, she would get him back. Now, looking at what she was faced with, that idea was more remote than ever. Responsibility was in the way. Again. _He may not even be alive,_ thought the Princess. That was a thought almost too horrible to bear. She'd been shielding her heart from that possibility. It was strange, but she'd known him a scant ten years, and he had taken her heart. More than anybody else over the long centuries of her life, Finn was the person she couldn't seem to do without. _Where are you, Finn,_ she thought? _Glob, please take care of him!_

Miles away, under the same stars, Finn settled into uneasy rest in the remnant of a house with Huntress at his side. They'd hustled to catch up to his dad. In spite of the injuries and the bruises, nagging thirst, and painful hunger, they'd caught up. They were close again. He would almost have tried reaching the camp tonight if they weren't so exhausted. Huntress wanted to try it the next day, and Finn had agreed. They just didn't have the juice right now.

Slipping his arms around her, he drew her in close, feeling her warm body–that round butt against his hips and her flat tummy under his hands. She had a strange, _earthy_ smell. It wasn't like the perfumes she wore back in the Candy Kingdom. It was... odd. Of course he imagined he didn't really smell good right now himself. At least he wasn't thinking of railing her anymore. He was almost getting to the point where this didn't give him an enormous hard-on.

For Huntress, the frustration had been building. They were so fucking close and yet so far. It was driving her crazy. Every morning, she woke up to the feel of that big pecker pressed against her ass, and every morning, she found herself thinking of pushing. She'd been thinking of pushing things–maybe waking him with a blow-job or something. They were both disgusting, and that was part of what stopped her. Still, she wanted to do _something_. _Maybe a handjob,_ she thought. That was something to break the impasse that wouldn't result in either of them contracting a nasty disease.

The other nasty problem that the wizard woman was facing right now were the crazy dreams she was having. Maybe it was the need. She'd been needing it for a while, and the loser she'd taken to bed back in Wizard City hadn't really scratched the itch. Maybe it was this hopeless love she felt, but it seemed like every other night she was dealing with the dreams. This night would be no exception.

It started lucid. As a wizard, she'd had to teach herself to dream lucid. Things got hairy when she didn't. She clearly felt herself laying there beside the man she wanted to claim for herself. He had his arms around her, and she could feel his warm body against hers and even hear his heart beating. It was a sign of just how frustrated she was that she _knew_ she was dreaming when Finn started playing with her boobies. He was running his hands all over them, and it was driving her crazy. Huntress moaned softly. He had the touch. Most guys were way too rough with them.

His breath was hot against her neck, and she could _feel_ his long, thick shaft against her ass. He was rubbing it against her. Her beautiful body began to squirm, and her moaning grew louder as his hand slipped down along her flank and cupped her snatch. Tight as her pants were, he could rub her pussy through her pants without any trouble at all. Hot pants came out of her, and her juice began to flow. And then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. She almost screamed both inside and outside the dream.

Just when she would have shouted at him, he suddenly drew back, then shoved her down on her back. Climbing up over her, he grabbed her arms at the wrist and held them up over her head. The wizard moaned, and her eyes were squinted tightly shut. She could feel him tearing her top open, baring her boobies to the cool air.

Huntress awoke from that vivid dream of Finn tearing her clothes off and found herself wondering. What had awakened her? Her eyes scanned the darkness as she lay perfectly still. She'd caught more than one would-be assassin that way. They liked to get close while they thought you were asleep. Then they could do you with less trouble and less risk, but it let her turn the tables when she surprised them with a spell.

Finn's hand had shifted in the night, and now he had a handful of her right booby. Was that what woke her? Even as that thought brought heat to her features, her ears strained at the darkness, and she sniffed the air, insistently, searching for anything else that might have awakened her. And then she had her answer.

Finn's tripwire was jingling.

Reaching up, Huntress disengaged Finn's hand from her tit. Carefully, she turned around to face him. Craning her neck, she caught his bottom lip with her teeth, and clamped down on it. "Ow, dammit," hissed Finn as he came awake. Huntress rolled away, hurling a lightning bolt at the nearest attacker. The mutant screamed horribly. Jolted awake by that shock of pain, Finn was immediately aware, and it was only a moment before he realized what was happening.

The creatures rushed in then, and the pair fought for their lives. Back to back, they faced the horde. Some came with nasty, _scabrous_ skin that bled with every step. Others had ugly, scaly skin. Still others looked like mounds of fat on legs. Finn used all the skill he'd developed, sparring with Rattleballs and then some. There were dozens, and suddenly cutting through that abandoned village seemed like a poor idea.

Nearby, the sound of lightning got the attention of several of Martin's guards. There hadn't been a cloud in the sky. It quickly became apparent that they were looking in the wrong direction. Flashes on the horizon told Bonnibel Bubblegum that her former boyfriend was still in the game. She would have recognized Emeraude's lightning anywhere.

Last the Princess had seen of her _court-wizard_, Huntress had been tied about the arms and more or less impotent. Martin had bragged about dropping her in a pit to drown. He'd sworn that Finn had dove in after her to die. If the wizard was alive and free, that meant Finn was too. As the men stared, and Bonnie counted the time between flash and bang, Martin opened his eyes, raised his pistol, and shot the lead mutineer through the head. Before the others could react, the loyalists opened fire on anybody who'd complained too much. In short order, the mutineers were all dead, and Martin's remaining loyalists were looting the corpses. Staring at the distant hillside where the flashes of light and blasts of thunder were starting to die down, Martin tossed a pair of his former employee's boots at Bonnie and said, "no stalling, Princess. Start walking."

The evil mercenary knew very well what that racket meant. His son. Finn was alive! He scarcely saw how that was possible, but Finn was alive, and he was _close_. If he hadn't gotten into a fight with whatever was in that town, he might have tried sneaking up in the night. Not that Martin had ever intended this to be a stop. He'd only stopped to have the opportunity to shed himself of the baggage. Now he was glad he'd acted when he did. Likely his son would be tied up tonight. Maybe he might get dead, but Martin wasn't counting on that. He wanted to get away from here while the chance was there and put distance between them.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

"You know what I need," rumbled Martin. He didn't mince words with her. He knew her quality. She'd shown a capacity for understanding the technology he'd brought with him, and she had the capacity to build and engineer just about anything. It was useless to pretend that she didn't when her unpleasant _companions_ all knew what she was capable of. Bonnie nodded. He needed a communications system. Or, more specifically, a way to interface the alien communications equipment he had to the rusting hulk that had once been a radio observatory.

Martin didn't waste time on threats. Just as he knew her skill, she knew what he was capable of. He'd shown it in his night-of-long-knives against the mutineers. They were all dead, and their compact with her was dead with them. Finn was still out there. He'd escaped injury. Martin and his remaining companions still feared him, but Bonnie was still on her own. "I have to look at the antenna horn," murmured the beautiful mad scientist. "Reeg," rumbled Martin. "Take the princess up to the antenna." Bonnie sighed her relief. Reeg, of all the menacing aliens, had shown the least proclivity to want to hurt her. For him, this was strictly business. Even if it destroyed millions of lives, it was just a business venture.

Taking hold of her upper arm, the heavily built alien steered her towards one of the ladders. Bonnie took hold of the rusty railings. The boots she'd been given–courtesy of one of the corpses–fit her feet poorly, and she had to be careful not to trip over them. As they climbed, Reeg kept her from falling through rusted floors and railings. Finally, after an hour of crawling through a maze of rusted supports and crossbeams the pair reached the goal.

Bonnie spent a while studying the port that fed the massive dish's reflector. "What kind of energy does your communications gear use," asked the pretty princess? "A fourth-order tachyon wave," replied the alien. Bonnie sat down and spent a while pondering the problem. "This antenna can be made to work," admitted Bonnie, "but I'll need to energize the metal surface. We're going to need a power source." Nodding, the tall alien asked, "how much?" "Thirty gigawatts minimum," replied the scientist. "That'll buy you a few minutes. You won't get two-way comms. You'll need to pre-record your message."

Miles away, Finn the Human marched through the desert with Huntress at his side. The stores the mutants kept had given them strength. Now they were thinking clearly and making good progress. Finn had high hopes for their next meet up with his dad. "You're in a good mood," opined Huntress. Finn replied, "we've almost caught up, and my dad's almost out of guys." As near as he could guess from the tracks, there were just seven now besides his dad.

"Where we at," asked Huntress? "Up ahead," said Finn. "They've stopped." The wood nymph wizard frowned. It was still hours until sunset. Why stop now? Pointing, Finn said, "I think this is where he was going." Following the line of his arm, Huntress shaded her eyes and stared a long few moments. "Technology," she murmured. Turning to the boy hero, she asked, "could he be building another spaceship?" "I don't think he has enough men," replied Finn. His hunch? Martin was calling for help. "What's the plan," asked Huntress? Glancing to his left, Finn answered, "there's rain coming. We can use that." Frowning, she thought her way through their situation for a moment. Nodding, she said, "good plan."

The rain was coming on strong as Martin's men finished hauling cables to supply the towering radio-dish with the power he would need to stabilize their tachyon carrier-wave. There had been a little bit of complaining and grousing, but everybody was happy at the prospect of getting off this miserable fucking planet. With the threat from their pursuers ended, the men were relaxed, and a few were talking about what they would do when they got back to civilize space. For most, it would be a quick trip to the vice den of their choice before signing on for another foolhardy mission for another set of misbegotten employers.

Martin planned to steal a ship, get his hands on another control device, and come back to grab what should have been so easy to get this time. He had become obssessed with the creature in the lava-pool. It was _his_! After fifteen years in prison and a host of hardships, it belonged to him. He was going to get his hands on it if it was the last thing he did!

Of course he wasn't going to make the mistake of arrogance again. He didn't trust the little pink princess. She'd been as good as her word, wiring up his equipment to the ancient machinery they'd crossed a wasteland to reach, but he knew better than to think that she was really willing to be taken off this world and into space with him. He was starting to think that he would have to tie her up or kill her. He couldn't leave her here, or he'd find a legion of those battle-robots waiting on him when he came back. Bonnibel Bubblegum was smarter than he had a hope of being, and old enough to be far more treacherous.

Reeg watched her. He watched every move the bitch made, following her from place to place–ostensibly to keep the paws of the other mercs at bay. The reality was that he was to slit her throat or shove that long pig-sticker in her gizzard the minute she thought of betraying them. But so far she'd been as good as her word.

_Too easy, Martin, my friend,_ thought the thuggish human. He would have felt a lot better about this if he'd had the opportunity to break her. If he could have had the little bitch in his clutches for a month or so, she'd be begging to make him happy. _Maybe two,_ he thought. She was a prideful bitch. He still hoped to hold onto her–to keep her for his uses. Her knowledge and skills could make him a very powerful man. He just wasn't sure how to avoid having to kill her.

As the men were stringing the last cable, the promised rain began to fall. Martin stood out in it, weathering the storm and wondering if it would effect his crude subspace radio. It was a bit of an irony. He needed the storm's lightning. He'd had the boys stringing up collectors around the area in high places. At the same time, lightning could induce a charge on his transmitter, distorting the signal and causing him to lose the other end of the line. They would get one shot at this. After that, he'd be stuck here until his employers decided to see what had happened to him and their money.

Honestly, if he couldn't get off this rotten world, he was considering taking up with the mutants that the pink one thought inhabited these wastes. If he could build himself an army, he could conquer his own little kingdom here. It wasn't home, and it wasn't the world he was used to, but it would beat dieing out here in the middle of nowhere. If he could keep the pink princess and bend her to his will, he could maybe force her to build him a new transmitter. With his son out of the way, that was a possibility.

Brooding on his evil thoughts, the older man watched as the men made the last connection. They were close. Now all they needed was lightning. Reeg was in the control booth, waiting with the transmitter. Once they had power, all he had to do was tap the key to send the message. They were close. They were so close he could taste it.

A flash of lightning overhead told him that he was going to get the light show he needed/wanted. Intermittent flashes in the clouds told that the storm was intensifying. _Good thing we didn't have to wait,_ thought Martin. He wasn't sure he would have been able to keep the boys together through that. Some invariably would have wandered off the reservation, and he might have lost the pink princess to their predations. A couple of the more randy sorts would have torn her to pieces already. "C'mon, storm," muttered the mercenary.

The scream came out of nowhere. It was sharp and blood-curdling, and it had every face there turning to see what had just happened. Before they could even figure out what they'd heard, a thunderous blast of lightning struck one of their collectors. It was just an instant, but they were in business now.

Of course he had to figure out where that scream came from.

The evil human rose and headed towards the sound of the screaming. His men converged on the source of the noise to find one of their number dead with his arms cut off at the elbow. _Finn,_ thought Martin. They had apparently not seen the last of him. _Fuck,_ thought the mercenary. _What does it take to get rid of this fucking kid!_ Turning to his nervous associates, he said, "sweep the area. Find that fucker. Stay together." As the rain began to fall, the men set out with their weapons at the ready. A paranoid Martin watched them go.

He was afraid all over again, and he turned this way and that, searching for his foe. Where was he? The fucking kid was a cagey foe. He knew his limits and his abilities. Getting him wouldn't be easy. He'd try and separate the men, isolate them, and whittle back the odds. Suddenly Martin had his answer. Grinning, he set off into the rain, pistol ready in his hand.

The men were high up on one of the platforms, creeping along when an abbreviated scream arrested them in mid-stride. Spinning around, they suddenly found the man on drag missing. Backtracking revealed him hanging from the catwalk with a power-lead wrapped around his neck. As the remainder pondered that, a pair of throwing knives embedded themselves into the rearmost guy's knees, clipping the arteries. As he screamed, the brown goo in his veins poured out all over the slippery decking. As the others looked on in impotent fury, he bled out, collapsing to the deck. Much terrified, the villains moved on, weapons raised.

As the lightning continued to crash, building the charge needed to send their distress call, they worked their way down off the platform and back to solid ground. Up in the wrecked control booth, Bonnie wielded an ultrasonic soldering iron, liberating semi-conductors from an old computer as she continued to cobble together the communications device her captors wanted. Having heard the screams, she was taking her time. This was over. Finn would likely be here any moment.

Indeed, Reeg was feeling the pressure. His comrades were out there dieing. Every scream, every gunshot told of just how badly this whole thing was going. He would dart across the room to the door and stick his head out. Then, he would return to his vigil over Bonnie. He would key his radio to contact the others, but no answer came, making him all the more apprehensive. Bonnie's single-minded focus on the job at hand just seemed to unnerve him. She wasn't pressing him. She didn't try escape. She just continued to toil away at the job of building a transceiver out of the bits and pieces of junk there.

Finally, the massive alien could take no more. Growling, "stay here. You'll get hurt if you leave," he went out that door and straight into a rather nasty trap. A blinding flash of light out the corner of Bonnie's eye served as the notice that the ugly alien was dead. Someone had laid the wire for one of the lightning rods on the metal deck outside, and he'd completed the circuit.

Down below, the last two aliens were in something of a jam. They were all that remained out of a small army that had crossed the stars to come here for an easy score. After repeated attempts to dust themselves of the trouble dogging their heels, they'd thought they succeeded. Now they were under attack by a foe that couldn't be seen, much less touched. Crossing an open space between two out buildings, the two aliens were considering holing up and taking shelter until the storm passed. As they focused outward on a noise they heard, a slim shape darted between them. Both aliens turned inward to face each other, opening fire as they did so. As Huntress Wizard turned to face the results of her handiwork, the two corpses slumped to the ground.

"Nice," rumbled Martin. The wood nymph turned to find the leader of this evil band standing there. Nodding, he said, "pretty fucking good, bitch. Was this what you had planned back in that village." "Yeah," muttered Huntress. "What you look like under that mask, sweet thing," he asked? "You still looking to score a piece of ass," retorted Huntress? With a shrug, the villain said, "maybe I might be looking for a new partner." Huntress laughed in his face. She'd seen what happened to his _partners_. "No," said he? "Oh, well." His finger moved on the trigger. He wasn't quite fast enough. A flash of bluish light arced down through the space where his arm was outstretched, severing the limb at the elbow.

Martin screamed like a girl. Clutching at the bleeding stump, he howled and screamed, as his son came out in front of him. "Y-you cut my fucking arm off," howled the evil man. "Yeah," said Finn. "I guess we're even." He slapped his dad across the face with the mutilated limb. As Huntress watched in shock, her would-be boyfriend began to beat the older man savagely. It was a side of him she wouldn't have expected.

Weak from blood loss, the old man tried to crawl away on his belly in the muck. Finn casually went around in front of him and kicked him square in the teeth, saying, "I can't really put you on trial for all the shit you've done. Hell, I don't even know what half of it is... Let's just say this is for all the peeps you've hurt." With each sentence, he delivered a savage blow with his feet–or the severed arm. The ugly visage of the evil mercenary became even uglier as Huntress watched.

Stepping forward, the wizard caught Finn's arm and stopped him. "That's enough, Finn," she murmured. His eyes came up to hers, and she reminded him, "you're not him." Dropping the arm, Finn brought his sword up and chopped off Martin's head. Then he gave it a swift kick, sending it rolling and tumbling off into the darkness.

A noise behind them, caused both to spin around, Finn readying his sword, and Huntress readying a lightning bolt. Finn caught her arm mid-cast. It was Bonnie. If you'd asked Finn the first thing he thought of when someone mentioned Bonnibel Bubblegum, he would have blurted 'poofy princess gown'. That was what he saw in his mind's eye when he thought of his long-time friend. The sight of her standing there in that rain-soaked and tattered nightgown, obviously naked underneath, very nearly made Finn's eyes pop out of his head. She was, in a word, _beautiful_. Which he'd already known, but the confirmation didn't hurt at all.

Tearing his eyes away, Finn asked, "are you ok, PB?" Bonnie threw herself on Finn and cried her eyes out. Painful, _wrenching_ sobs shook her as he stood there rocking with her. "It's ok, Peebles," he whispered. "He's gone. I took care of it." As she continued to cry, he feared Martin had been as good as his word–that he'd done evil things to one of the people Finn cared most about. "I don't know how," said Finn, "but I... I'm gonna' fix this."

Huntress turned and walked away from that painful scene. Jealousy was eating her alive. She wanted that to be her. When she had gone, Bonnie straightened, took Finn's face in her hands, and kissed his warm, inviting lips. Finn was shocked at first. And then he found himself responding. His hands stroked her sides, caressing her soft body. It was every fantasy he'd ever had about this woman. The feel of her, wearing that silky nightie and so obviously naked underneath, had him aroused like never before. And then, as he realized what he was doing, Finn broke that kiss. Face red hot, he jumped back from her. "Sorry," sighed Bonnie. "I... I sort of had to do that."

Shaking herself, Bonnie turned and stared a moment at the abandoned radio telescope. They'd come down to the wire on this. She'd built what she hoped was an undetectable flaw in the transmitter while Reeg was distracted, but she still felt a fear. Martin wasn't a scientist, but there may have been one on his crew. They wouldn't know the threat was ended until every last one of those men was tracked down and dead or imprisoned.

"C'mon, PB," said Finn. "Let's get you home." Gallantly, he hunted down something for her to cover up with, settling on a discarded jacket that looked small enough to fit. Then he cobbled together some workable shoes for her. Then it was time to put together shelter for the three of them out of the rain and away from the massive lightning magnet that was the radio-dish.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

With a sleepy sigh, Bonnibel snuggled in closer to the warm body-pillow she'd been sleeping with the last week or so. It wasn't the _softest_ thing in the world, but she kind of liked it. Wrapping her long legs around one of the ends, the beautiful Princess of the Candy Kingdom scrunched her face in against her toy as she dreamed pleasant dreams. She dreamed of children. There were two of them, boy and girl, with beautiful golden hair and blue eyes, and they were running in the grass outside her kingdom with their father while she watched. It was the same dream she'd had almost every night so far. It was far better than the terrible nightmares she'd had while held captive. Unfortunately today there was an interruption.

The chirping of Finn's phone woke the candy-royal, dragging her up out of a sound sleep. Glancing across Finn's chest, she found Huntress staring back at her from the boy-hero's left side. The two women glared at each other briefly until Finn sat up, pulling his numb arms out from under the two of them. They had been doing this to him every night since the rescue. He understood it. It was freezing out here with no real shelter, and Huntress's cloak was pretty much the only blanket they had. It was, unfortunately, doing nothing to help him with his morning-wood problem, and it kept making him think awkward thoughts.

Exhausted as they were, they hadn't exactly _rushed_ across the wilderness. Finn took the time each night to build up a fire to warm them, and then he would bank the coals so they could have hot tea in the morning. Right now, Finn fished his phone out with fingers numbed by poor circulation. He was halfway afraid they would do permanent damage because they both insisted on having him put his arms around them–the better to 'share body-heat'. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn it was about something else. He'd felt somebody grinding her body against him a couple of nights ago, but he couldn't tell who it was nor even be sure he'd really felt that.

"Hello," croaked Finn. His throat was parched, and he was exhausted. :You ok,: asked Flame King? "Oh, hi, FP," replied Finn. "Just woke up." :We've been calling for days,: said Phoebe, :but we couldn't get through.: Finn replied, "I chased him for a week. It took a while to get back." He had been well out of range. :Well, stay where you are,: said Phoebe. :We're on our way to get you.: "Ok," said Finn, as he hung up. Turning to his companions, he said, "that was Phoebes. She's on her way to pick us up." Slipping out from under Huntress's cloak, he said, "you two huddle. I'm'a get some tea going." The two women glared at each other. They were going to do no such thing. Bonnie immediately got out from under the wizard's cloak. Huntress wasn't shy at all about wrapping herself in it.

They were quite a sight when Flame Princess arrived with a cavalcade of fire wolves. Phoebe was wearing her armor once more, and she'd come literally with the cavalry. Her knights set up a perimeter against the risk of mutant attack, while she saw to her friends personally. Spying Bonnie there wearing a tattered nightgown and little else made the elemental howl laughter. "Yeah, yeah," muttered Bonnie. "When the aliens come looking for somebody to kidnap, I'll send them your way next time." Chuckling, Phoebe said, "I'm just glad to see you're alive." Which was something that Finn thought he'd never hear out of Phoebe's mouth. "C'mere, pink-girl," said the Flame King. "I can get you something to wear." At Bonnie's skeptical look, Finn explained, "Phoebes can make cloth out of dirt, PB! It's totes rad!" "You must be spinning silicon filaments," burbled Bonnie in her eager, 'science' voice.

Turning to Finn, the Flame King said, "take a walk, Finn." Knowing Bonnie would have to get naked, Finn quickly got up and scooted out of there. As he walked swiftly away, he could hear the rustle of cloth as Bonnie shed that nasty nightgown. "Ok," said Phoebe. "It'll be a little warm at first, but it cools off pretty quick." "Alright," said Bonnie. "I'm ready." Finn heard the puff of one of Phoebe's little fireballs, and then a tremendous shriek from Bonnie. When he glanced over his shoulder, he found his friend dancing and prancing in place, her big boobies joggling under a sexy white dress like Phoebe often wore. "It'shotIt'shotIt'shot," howled Bonnie! "It's only ninety degrees, ya big baby," laughed Phoebe. "The thread's already cool by the time I weave it."

"Wow, PB," said Finn! "Smokin'!" Discomfort forgotten, Bonnie glanced at him with a strange look on her face, and a deep blush suffused her fine features. Her new dress was the same sort of semi-transparent that Phoebe liked, showing off the glowing pink of her skin without revealing any of her girl-bits. The high-collar was very princess-like, but it gave way to a sexy cleavage-cut that went from her neck down to her flat belly. Knowing, Bonnie needed underwear, Finn kept walking.

By the time he got back, the Princess was no longer dancing in place, and she now sported a pair of transparent slippers like Phoebe used to wear. "Ready to go, Finn," asked Phoebe with a smirk? She'd noticed the way he looked at Bonnie. _Still in love with her,_ thought the elemental? It stood to reason. He'd never lost his love for Phoebe. He'd moved on with his life, but the feelings were still there. It stood to reason that he still loved Bonnie because she'd been a defining piece of his life. As her cavalry formed up around them, Phoebe directed her friends to climb aboard the spare fire-wolf she'd brought. Bonnie immediately climbed up behind Finn and slipped her arms around him, leaving Huntress as tail-end charlie. As the convoy got underway, Bonnie lay her head against Finn's neck and drifted off into lazy day-dreams about blond-haired children playing in her garden.

It was days later when the little party finally arrived in Bonnie's Kingdom. Phoebe had sent word ahead that they'd found the princess safe and sound, and they arrived to find a crowd filling the palace grounds. The gathered candy-people cheered as Bonnie climbed down from the fire-wolf's back, dressed in a natty gown of silicon threads. This one came with a sexy scoop-back that went nearly to Bonnie's butt and had a heart-shaped cleavage window over her chest. Finn almost thought Phoebe was playing with him. She created the dresses on the spot, and Bonnie's wasn't the only one he'd had to contend with.

After they left the wastelands, the Flame King shed her armor in favor of another of her diaphanous gowns. Unlike the clothes she wore as a teen, she now rocked a more sexy _adult_ style with scalloped backs and plunging necklines. Phoebe made sure Finn got an eyeful morning, noon, and night. If it wasn't Phoebe standing in front of him with her curves barely shielded by a sexy semi-transparent gown, it was Bonnie.

The only fly in the ointment was Huntress, who had gone into full-blown Evil mode. She was angry and hostile morning, noon, and night. She sniped at him, never failing to find fault with something he said and did causing him at one point to tell her to put a sock in it. She'd immediately hurled vile curses at him, and they hadn't spoken since. Now, as the Candy-people crowded around them, Huntress dropped off the back of the wolf and slipped away into the crowd. Finn knew he had to go get that straightened out. Right now, though, he had other thoughts on his mind.

Simone fought her way through the crowd to his side. As Bonnie and Phoebe looked on, Finn swept up his wife and hugged her tight. Sniffing back tears, he rocked with her there, holding onto her as if he was a drowning man. Phoebe glanced away, feeling the pain of loss all over again. Bonnie stared at that sight with a strange _calculation_ in her eyes. Before she could do or say anything, though, Dr. Princess came out of the crowd along with a small team of nurses and doctors. Within moments, Princess Bonnibel got swept up, put on a wheelchair, and escorted inside to be looked over. Turning her back on her past, Phoebe turned Jake 2 for the sky and lifted off, headed for home, leaving her cavalry to follow as best they could. She wasn't alone.

Huntress had watched that reunion with a sense of wrenching loss. After all the miles and all they'd been through, they were right back where they started. He was home. With her. And Huntress was standing on the outside, looking in. It was time to go. She had to get away from this place, or it would destroy her.

Simone brought Finn's face to hers and said, "let's get home, honey." Finn didn't need to hear that suggestion twice. Taking his wife by the hand, he started wading through the crowd, bound for the gates. As they walked, Finn asked the obvious, "where's Billy?" "At Lady's place," said the former sorceress. "Viola's looking after him." Finn was a little disappointed until she said, "we'll see him in the morning, honey. I wanted to spend time with my husband for a change." That news had Finn excited as never before. After days of Huntress and Bonnie curled up against him and seeing Phoebe and Bonnie prancing around in those sexy dresses, he was anxious to have some feminine company.

When they arrived home, Simone led him straight upstairs to their bathroom, where she made him strip, while she drew a scalding hot bath. With the bath ready, she made him get in, and then she fell to work scrubbing and washing him. _More scars,_ she noted, with some dismay. Early on, he'd wasted precious medicine trying to heal the wounds so she wouldn't see, but there were always scars, and she'd proven adept at remembering what had been there before. He was never really able to hide the impacts of his ugly profession from her.

Things had been quiet those few days before his evil father showed up to try and destroy their happiness, and Simone had been delighted to have her husband out of danger for a change. Now, knowing that he'd been through hell and knowing that there were still dangers out there, she found herself doing a lot of soul searching. She wanted a better life for their family–something where he wasn't constantly in danger of dieing. Still, the last thing she wanted to do now was pile on with demands and anger.

Tugging his face up to hers, she said, "my poor, sweet baby. You went through so much..." Reaching down into the water, she started stroking his rod. At the same time her misty grey eyes captivated his. As he stared in fascination at her beautiful face, Simone shed the robe she was wearing, giving him an eyeful of that beautiful body. Leaning in, she kissed his rough lips, finding fresh scratches and scars there too. There wasn't an inch of him that wasn't hurt in some way. On his side, Finn found himself torn, strangely enough. With his beautiful wife there in front of him, his mind kept wanting to slide off to thinking about Bonnie or Phoebe.

Or Huntress.

That last was the strangest of all, when he was sure she absolutely hated his guts. At the same time, he'd have been lieing if he said he didn't really want to rail the shit out of the little jerk-face. Just the thought of it–and that body–had his little buddy standing up strong and proud. Simone giggled at the feel of it in her hand. Climbing into the tube, she said, "a reward for all you did, honey..." And she sank that hot, steamy pussy down his fat dick, taking him to the root in one move. "Oooaaaahh," howled Finn!

Pressing his face into the valley between her big boobies, Simone began to ride that fat sausage, savoring the feel of her husband after two weeks apart–two weeks where she didn't know if he was alive or dead. Turned on, Finn grabbed her hips and started bouncing her up and down his fat rod, going full-speed in just moments. Kissing and necking, clawing at each other, the young couple lost themselves in the wonderfully _raw_ feel of that. Thoughts of other women faded into the background of Finn's mind.

His mouth clamped down on her left nip, earning him a squirt of Simone's special baby-formula. It was a lot fucking better than bug-milk! Finn found himself licking up dribbles of it from one booby or the other, making her giggle and laugh as his whiskers tickled her sensitive flesh. They were one big nasty as they got closer and closer to the edge. Finally poor, under-sexed Finn went over the edge, shooting off inside his girl with a bellow like a wounded bull. Simone was right behind him. "I love you," murmured Finn, as he held his lady tight. In just moments the pair were crying all over each other. It was great to be home.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

"Peebles," shouted Finn, as he approached the figure standing in the center of the hall! He was glad to see her up and about. Straightening from giving Peppermint Butler some instructions, the Princess turned to face Finn with a smile on her beautiful face. As Finn approached, his friend and former love interest grinned and said, "hey, Finn..." When he came within arm's length, the beautiful woman leaned in and kissed him full on the lips, even slipping him a little tongue. Finn's hands were on her hips before he realized what he was doing. Startled and embarrassed, Finn jumped back.

"Just testing," said P-Bot in her normal, electronic voice. "Wanted to see if I could fool you." She'd gotten very good over the last week or so of impersonating her creator. The hidden subroutines with Bonnibel's mannerisms and voice inflections had stood her in good stead. Of course the truest test was teasing this man, who probably knew her creator better than everyone on Ooo outside of the Vampire Queen. Stroking Finn's face with a gloved hand, the robot said, "this will be goodbye, Finn. I was built to take care of Braco, and I have to go back to him. I just wanted to say goodbye to you."

It was an odd sentiment, and it left Finn staring at her in confusion. Why did she need to say goodbye to him? With a heartfelt sigh, P-Bot turned and strode for the door, bound for her home and her old life. Finn turned and watched her go, and she glanced back at him now and again as she crossed the hall to the door. Shaking off his confusion, Finn turned and headed for the stairs. If Peebles wasn't down here working, she was probably upstairs in bed, resting.

Doctor Princess was coming out of Bonnie's room as Finn walked up, and Finn felt a thrill of fear as he remembered the last time PB had been laid up like this. She'd been under the lich's control at the time, and he'd come close to losing her. It was, at once, the best memory he had and the worst. The woman he'd been desperately in love with almost died, just when she was starting to acknowledge that she actually cared about him. At the same time, he knew Poibles still had a soft spot in her heart for him.

Shutting the door, Dr. P said, "she's able to see you now, but I have some instructions before you go in." Finn nodded eagerly. He wanted to do everything he could to help his best friend get better. "She's been traumatized repeatedly, Finn," said the doctor. "Without getting into specifics, I want you to know she's going to be a while recovering from this emotionally." Finn nodded. "When a girl's been touched that way," said Doctor Princess, "it can be very frightening for a boy to... be close to her. Do you understand, Finn? I know you've always been close to the Princess, but I'd appreciate it if you weren't so... touchy just now. Alright?"

A shocked Finn nodded emphatically. He was absolutely horrified to think that his dad might have done something like that to PB. As he watched the doctor go, he found his heart steadily sinking until it was down around his boots. How would he ever face Peebles again? How was he going to help her, when she probably wouldn't even want him around? The answers frightened him.

At the same time, he was Captain of the Guard, and Poibles needed him more than ever. Squaring up, Finn went up to the door and knocked, announcing himself, "hey, PB... It's me, Finn... I... I can stay out here if you want." "No, silly," said the Princess. "I called you here for a reason. I'm decent." Reluctantly, Finn opened the door to her room and went in. There he found her sitting at the table in her nightgown, having lunch. She looked a lot better than when they'd rescued her. The bags under her eyes were gone. Her hair was clean, and she looked like she'd just taken a shower. The biggest–and _best_–change was that she was wearing one of her old dowdy nightgowns. He'd been almost unable to stop thinking about PB in the sexy outfit Martin had made her wear. It was a lot better for _both_ of them to have her wearing something so unsexy.

Finn walked up to the table and stopped about six feet from the far side. "So," said he, "whassup, PB?" Bonnie smiled up at him. Her sweet, sweet champion. He'd well-rewarded her faith in him, and, after witnessing what he'd done to the sick bastard who'd kidnaped her, she found her heart swelled with love at the sight of his ernest face. "Thanks for coming, Finn," said the Princess. "No prob, Bob," said he. Gesturing, she said, "sit, Finn. We have a lot to talk about."

Finn frowned down at the floor and sort of mumbled, "is that... is that ok, Peebles?" Bonnibel knew exactly what he was asking and why. "He didn't _rape_ me, Finn," sighed the Princess. "Starved me. Hit me. But he didn't do that." His eyes suggested he didn't quite believe her. Standing up, the beautiful princess walked up to him, slipped her arms around him, and said, "it's true, Finn. He threatened me a few times, but I was worth too much to him for that. You _saved_ me."

After his encounter with P-Bot, Finn was uncomfortably aware of Bonnie's rather beautiful form pressed in against him. His mind couldn't help noting that P-Bot felt... _different_. She was surprisingly _warm_, but it seemed like she was warm in all the wrong places. Remembering the kiss Bonnie gave him when he defeated Martin, he found that P-Bot's kiss was different too. She tasted citrusy like Bonnie, but the flavor was a little off. Not off-putting, just _different_. Aware that he might accidentally put Bonnie's resolve to the test, the hero backed away.

Blushing, Finn smiled back at her. She gave him a peck on the lips and said, "so... Have a seat, hero. We need to talk about what we're going to do now." Finn eagerly sat down. Said he, "Dr. P thought that maybe you... you wouldn't want dudes around you." With a sigh, Bonnie confessed, "I do have issues, sweetie. I have nightmares of being slapped around and... well... hurt by them..., but I don't associate that with you." She was having a little trouble managing Simon right now. His voice reminded her of all the times Ice-King had kidnaped her, but she was doing well under the circumstances.

Moving on, she said, "I need you more than ever, hero. I need you to track down the other mercenaries and either bring them here to be imprisoned..." "... or kill them," sighed Finn. He nodded. He could do that. "But why," asked Finn? "Martin was trying to find a way off Ooo, remember," replied Bonnie? Finn did remember. The princess explained, "if he had been able to get home with the exact location of the Devourer, he would have been able to come back and just take it, Finn. Right now, his mysterious employers have no idea what happened to him." "But they'll figure it out fast if any of those guys escape," sighed Finn. "Ok, Peebles. I'll get right on it. Me'n Rattleballs..."

Bonnie stopped him. "I can't spare Rattleballs, Finn," she said with a sigh. "With one Gumball Guardian still down, we're working with half our defenses, but I'm willing to hire some men to help you if you need them." "S'ok, Poibles," said Finn. "I'll grab Jake. It'll be kinda' like old times." "Ok, Finn," said the Princess. Rising, she said, "be careful. I can't lose you." Finn gave her a big grin as he got up and hugged her. With a kiss on the cheek, she sent him on his way.

The hero went his way with a big smile on his face. He'd been worried about Bonnie. She'd been a mess when they caught up with Martin. Finn had been afraid that his so-called father had done something terrible to her, and that she'd never really be the same again. Now he thought he'd caught a break finally. She was back to her old self. Peebles had been kind of distant and cold for years, but it now seemed a lot like he had the old PB back–the affectionate woman who used to hug him and kiss him on the cheek whenever she felt like it.

Outside, the hero got his bearings and then headed off down the street. Jake should be back from running his route this time of day. With a smile on his face, Finn set off, headed for the central post office to see if he could interest Jake in going on one last run. As he walked through the streets, it seemed as if everybody he met wanted to say hello or to thank him. Coming down Main Street, he found many of Bonnie's peeps out taking it easy. They had all been grinding away trying to get the city back into its original shape, and, in honor of their princess being returned to them, they were having a little bit of a holiday.

Coming around a corner, Finn found a bunch of them splashing in the water from a damaged fireplug, Lollipop Girl amongst their number. "Hey, Finn," shouted the pretty candy-person. She was wearing a skimpy two-piece swimsuit from her shop. Finn stopped and watched as she came strolling up, splashing her way through the water. Finn gave her a grin. He'd been a little afraid that she would let the rest of the candy-people know that Bonnie had been taken, which would have destroyed the Candy Kingdom. Fortunately, she'd realized just how important it was to keep the secret. "Hey, LG," said Finn, as he forced himself to look her in the eyes. "How's it going?"

Simone had guessed that he liked boobies because he found hers so fascinating, which was true to a point. Honestly, though, Finn would have to admit that he pretty much liked it all. If you showed him a pretty girl, he couldn't really help getting tongue-tied or wanting to stare. He'd been getting better though. Blushing, Lollipop Girl gave him a sweet smile and said, "going alright. You?" With a shrug, Finn said, "just got done seeing Princess Bubblegum. Got to go out and find the last of those guys. So they don't go bring back friends..."

"Be careful, Finn," said the skinny girl. She leaned over and kissed him, saying, "we'd be lost without you." Finn blushed, but he swore things would be alright. Backing away, he said, "uh, yeah... I better go... Take care, LG." And he scooted out of there. _Wow,_ he thought. _Girls sure are kind of touchy today._ First P-Bot, then Bonnie, and now Lollipop Girl had wanted to kiss him. He wasn't sure which was weirder, P-Bot or Lollipop Girl.

Still pondering the mystery that was women, Finn strolled up to the Candy Kingdom post office to find Jake lounging around out front. "Hey, Finn," said the stretchy dog. "Jake," Finn greeted his brother. "Whatcha' doin'?" With a shrug, Jake replied, "we kinda' got to clean the place up... There's mail all over the place. We're trying to figure out which mail is going in and which mail is going out..." Which answer puzzled Finn. To him, it was pretty obvious that any mail in the building should be going out, since the post office wasn't the destination. As he puzzled his way through that, Jake remarked, "guess Peebles was happy to see you."

Finn gave him a puzzled look. Laughing, Jake said, "man, you got lipstick all over your face." As Finn goggled at him, Jake realized, "dude! You got three different kinds of lipstick on you! Where the heck you been, Finn?!" Blushing, Finn said, "girls have been all over me all afternoon." He told Jake about Peebles, Lollipop Girl, and even P-Bot." "P-Bot kissed you, man," howled Jake?! "Wow!" Then, "you better get that stuff off you, 'fore Simone sees it." Nodding, Finn wiped all the lipstick off his cheeks and lips. "You gotta' be careful with that, Finn," said Jake. "You can get in trouble if your girls know about each other..." "_Jake_," howled Finn! "I don't have girls! I just got Simone!" He didn't _want_ other girls. "They... just... keep kissing me...," he rumbled. "Hahaha," laughed Jake. "You got a lot t'learn, dude. When you're a big, important guy, girls want t'kiss you and give you lovin'! You just watch!"

Changing the subject, Finn said, "Peebles wants me to go find the last of my dad's dudes. I can't take Rattleballs because she needs him here to protect the place. I was kinda' hopin' you could come along." Jake brightened momentarily, giving Finn hope that his bro would come along. Then the stretchy dog deflated visibly. With a heavy sigh, he said, "this last thing was kind of my last fight, Finn..." Finn's jaw came open. "Not gettin' any younger, man," said Jake. "Us dogs don't age the way humans do... and Lady... kinda' wants me t'quit runnin' around." Finn the Hero simply _stared_. He didn't know what to say to that. Jake chuckled. "Man, you look funny," said he.

With a heavy sigh, Finn said, "so, I guess I gotta' go by myself..." He sounded... _lost_. "Whyn't ye take Huntress," asked Jake? "She likes you." Finn sighed, "Huntress hates me." She'd cussed him the last time he saw her. He had no idea why she was mad at him, but he didn't really think having her come along was an option. "Nah, man," said Jake. "Girls get those crazy moods, man. Lady gets all crabby on me same time every month. Must be just that time for her." Finn frowned. "Now that you mention it," said Finn. "Simone sometimes gets crabby too..." Nodding, Finn said, "ok... I'll... I'll go see if Huntress'll go." Jack slapped him on the back, saying, "don't do anything crazy up there." It took a moment for Finn to realize what he was saying. "_Jake_," he howled! The stretchy dog was already walking back into the post office.

A deflated Finn went out to the edge of town where the construction crews were baking new bricks for the walls as fast as the ovens could manage and pouring candy-steel by the ton. Huntress's place was near the edge of town. He'd been a little puzzled by that at first, but he'd brushed it off, figuring that wizards totes liked their privacy. As he approached the apartment building, he found a cart out front with some of her stuff on it. Frowning, the hero rushed inside and straight upstairs to find her door open, and the wizard bustling around packing.

"W-what gives," asked Finn, as he walked through her door? The wood nymph didn't even look up. In fact, she was a little pissed. She'd been trying to lure this man to her door for _weeks_, and _now_ he shows up. "I'm going home," said the hostile wizard. "But why," howled Finn?! "You've only been here maybe a month!" "Got my reasons," muttered Huntress. Finn walked up and got in her way, saying, "but we need you!" Her eyes burned into his, and she looked like she might become violent. He remembered Jake's warning about girls and their moods.

Stepping back, Finn bowed to her and said, "the Candy Kingdom would be gone without your help, milady. It would greatly please Her Highness, Princess Bubblegum, if you would continue to aid her." Frowning, Huntress, rumbled, "and what does the Captain of the Guard think?" Finn dropped the act. Staring at the floor, he said, "I need your help, Huntress. I... Bonnie needs me to go find the rest of those guys... the ones that got away. She's afraid they're gonna' find another one of those telescope thingies, but I haven't got anybody I can trust to keep up... I-I really need you."

Those words, delivered in that calm, honest tone, did things to her. His words called out to that unpleasant emotion that she'd been trying to kill the last few days. _Son-of-a-bitch,_ thought the wizard. Just when she felt like maybe she was starting to get over this _thing_... Turning to stare out the window, Huntress sighed heavily. Finn waited with baited breath. He needed her. He had nowhere else to turn. Muttering curses, the wizard said, "ok." Finn gave her profuse thanks, grabbing her hand and pumping it, promising she wouldn't regret this. After a moment, seeing the strange expression on her face, he said, "uh... yeah. I'm'a go get my stuff. Meet you at the crossroads..."

**Thus ends the first two acts... Now we shall see how well Finn holds out against real temptation while alone with Huntress with no bars, cages, or Simones to hold him back.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

"Well this is a bind," muttered Huntress. The ten aliens they'd tracked to this ancient factory had them surrounded. One stood on an upper level, holding one of those deadly space-guns. A second blocked the door they'd just come through. The remainder stood in a ragged circle around the two. It was just like Huntress liked it–the enemy in front of her and Finn at her back. "Yeah," retorted Finn. "Maybe... you'll follow the plan next time..." Huntress laughed, as she slung a bolt of lightning at the nearest of their foes, burning him to a cinder. She was a beat early, and Finn now had to rush the aliens instead of having them within reach.

Four of them leveled their guns at him and let rip. They were getting smarter, trying things to nullify the Finn-Sword's near miraculous ability to be in the right spot to block their weapons. With fire coming from four directions at once–including from above–it was a close thing. A searing hot bolt of energy ripped through Finn's shirt, singing his shoulder as he deflected the remaining three shots in rapid succession. And then he was on top of them, throwing kicks and punches, and swinging that razor-edged blade.

They had never experienced anything like this, and they really didn't have an effective answer. They just fired wildly, as their foe cut them down with prejudice. As Finn waxed the last of the foes in front of him, the man on the catwalk tried to torch Huntress. With a scream of rage, Finn hurled his dagger, sticking it between the alien's eyes. The ugly, bulbous visage contorted into a grimace of surprise as he toppled from the catwalk. Finn didn't even wait to see him land. He turned and immediately raced to the wood nymph's side.

Grabbing her by the shoulders, he spun her around. "What the fuck, Finn," growled the wizard? Finn grabbed her cloak and held it up. There was a hole in it as big as his dick. A few inches to the right, and it would have hit her in the back. "Oh," rumbled the wood nymph as a blush suffused her features. Then, "why's it matter?" She snatched the cloak out of his hands and stomped over to the crate the aliens had opened. As Finn stared at her back, she drew the pendant she carried under her tunic. Keying the control on the back, she announced, "Bonnie? It's Huntress. We just bagged ten of them. They were in some kind of factory..."

She scanned the pendant across the contents of the crate. "Radio-Frequency amplifiers," announced the hologram of the princess. "That's what I was afraid of. They're trying to build a transmitter." Frowning, Huntress asked, "what's next?" "Get to Oceanside," replied Bonnibel. "There are many ancient ocean vessels there still loaded with cargo. My agents tell me strangers have been seen there. Be careful not to use my name..." "Wore out your welcome there," asked the wizard in a teasing tone? Blushing and glancing away, Bonnie murmured, "maybe..." Huntress chuckled. Changing the subject, her employer asked, "is Finn there?" "Yeah, PB," said Finn as he rushed across the room. The crotchety wood nymph broke the connection before Finn reached her side. "Let's go," said she.

With a heavy-hearted sigh, the hero followed her outside to where they had stashed their gear and supplies. Huntress shouldered her bag and immediately set off, suggesting she was pissed off about _something_. Finn wasn't sure _what_ was ailing the wizard. Her mood swings had become even more violent the last few days until Finn wasn't sure from moment to moment what might set her off. One moment they were on good terms, and he had her laughing. The next moment, she seemed to want to tear off his head and shit down his neck! He didn't know what to do with her.

On her side, Emeraude knew she'd been a little cunty towards him–well, maybe a _lot_ cunty–but she couldn't help it. He was still somehow ignoring her, and she was sick of it. There were moments where he clearly cared about her–moments like today where she could see it in his eyes. Yet he never took that last step. It was like he was teasing her.

And Emeraude didn't appreciate teasing.

On his side, Finn couldn't help wondering just how long this was going to go on. Simone's _episodes_ rarely lasted more than a few days. He'd heard it could go on for up to a week, but Huntress had been crabby for _three weeks straight_! As he pondered that, Huntress rumbled, "what are you thinking about _now_, donk?" Finn glared at her. He was trying not to get mad when she called him that, but she did it so often, he was having trouble.

Calming himself, he said, "just thinking... if you're having girl issues... I understand. I'm not tryin' to make you mad at me..." Her head whipped around. Was he saying...? Huntress howled laughter. "What, you think I'm having my period," she chuckled? "That was two weeks ago." Shaking her head, she said, "you got a lot to learn about women, donk."

"Why'd you keep calling me that," demanded an irritated Finn? "What? Donk," asked the wizard? "Maybe you are one... You're pretty clueless..." Finn flinched. Grinning, Huntress came around in front of him. "Why do you keep saving me," she asked? "You act like you don't like me..." Finn retorted, "you're a good fighter. If I can't have Jake, you fit the bill." Walking around him, almost _making_ him watch that wiggling butt, she said, "really? I'm a good fighter, huh. Never figured I'd hear that out of you." "Why," asked Finn? "It's true..." Huntress replied, "hard to believe coming from a guy who runs around saving hopeless bimbos like Princess Bubblegum."

Finn gave her a dirty look. Smirking, Huntress stopped in front of him. Finn calmly replied, "I don't think of girls as dumb or weak if that's what you mean... Peebles's saved my butt lots of times..." "Peebles, huh," remarked Huntress. "You must like her to give her a pet name." Flushing, Finn retorted, "I give all my buds nicknames..." "Really," asked the wizard? "What's _my_ name?" Finn blushed. Thinking quickly, he offered, "HW..." "HW," rumbled Huntress, "pretty original, donk." Finn's face darkened even more. It was stupid, and he knew it.

"So we're bro's huh," asked Huntress? Finn knew he couldn't take that back. Solemnly he nodded. "Well, _bro_," said the wizard, "as one bro to another, am I smokin'?" Finn's face went pale, and he clamped his jaw shut. They were _not_ going_ there_. "You saying I'm not pretty, donk," demanded Huntress? Still he said nothing. He didn't trust himself to speak. He was _married_! He shouldn't be saying junk like that to some other girl! "Well if I'm not pretty, then what the hell were you lookin' at a minute ago," demanded Huntress? His face went red hot! She'd caught him looking at her butt!

She sounded mad. Finn knew he shouldn't antagonize her because he did need her help. At the same time, she'd been annoying him, and she had started this. What the fuck did she want from him? He was married! He had a wife and kid! Huntress's fists clenched as she stared him down, but Finn held his ground. They weren't going there!

And then the fight started.

One moment they had been staring at each other–really glaring–the next they were rolling around on the ground, wrestling. The nasty, little jerk-face was stronger than she looked. With a deft move, she got Finn on his back, pinning him. Kneeling there on his hands, panting with the effort, Huntress stared down at him. "Let me up," growled Finn! "No," retorted the wizard. "Not until I get the truth." Flushing, Finn growled, "what are you talking about?" "You know," snapped the wood-nymph! "Tell me you don't think I'm pretty. Say it to my face!"

In that moment, Finn had a terrifying epiphany. What he'd taken for moodiness was something entirely different. Huntress had been coming on to him. She'd been doing it for a while. When she didn't get what she wanted, she got angry. Looking into her eyes, it all made sense. Every time he was mad at Simone, he'd find himself confronted with Huntress in full-on sex-bomb mode. The more he made himself look away, the crankier she got.

_So what the fuck do I do now,_ he thought?

He started off with reason. "Y-you're my friend," said Finn. "I'd... I've been bad about saying it 'cause you make me mad sometimes, but I'd... I'd be sad if you got hurt..." "Liar," growled Huntress. Leaning down, she said, "that's not it." He could feel her breath on his face, smelling like mint, and those green eyes of hers did things to him. From the first he'd seen her, those eyes touched a part of him.

Finn said not a word. He didn't trust himself. Reaching up, Huntress untied her leather tunic, unlacing it down to her cute belly-button, causing her plump boobies to spill out. Finn's mouth went dry at the sight of her perky knockers. "You know you want me," growled Huntress. "You want me." Finn said not a word. He tried to keep his eyes off her, but it was so damned hard because she _was_ pretty. She'd have given Simone a run for her money.

Leaning down, Huntress pressed her forehead to his and whispered, "it was there in your eyes when you were saving my life, Finn... It's there every time you look at me... every time you think I might get hurt. It's there right now... You want me." She moved off his hands, and Finn immediately moved to throw her off. Huntress grabbed his shoulders and wrapped her arms around him, holding on as he tried to roll her off him. Straining to reach him, she pressed her lips to his. Finn felt a shock of... _something_. A shiver went through his body, and he felt a surge of heat rushing through him. Moments later, they were rolling around on the ground, swapping spit and exploring each other's bodies. Finn jerked her tunic open, finding she had the most _perfect_ set of boobies–nice handfuls that fit her lean shape perfectly.

On her side, Huntress found her would-be boyfriend was just as hunky as she'd been expecting with powerful muscles all up and down his back–and a tight, _hard_ ass.

And he was just as good as she'd thought.

He touched her so good. His hands seemed to glide over her flat stomach and perky tits. When he leaned down and started teasing them with his lips, she freaked, shaking and whining in heat.

Finn had never seen a girl get her rocks off from having her boobies worked over. Laying there, mouth agape, breathing hard, the beautiful woman stared into his eyes. Finn could feel his hard dick trapped between them, and he knew she could feel it too. A corner of his mind screamed that this was his chance to get up and walk away. But his body had other ideas. Leaning down, he kissed her again, teasing her tongue with his as he caressed her plump little boobies. Huntress gasped into his mouth. He wasn't anything at all like his father. The way he touched them. It felt so good. She was getting more and more turned on.

Reaching up, she grabbed his hand at the wrist. Carefully she slid the rough, calloused fingers down her flat tummy and then up under her pants. Finn could _feel_ the moisture. She was _very_ wet. Her breath caught when his questing fingers touched the top of her crack. Breaking that kiss, she closed her eyes and lay back, while Finn rubbed her hot pussy. Her hot little body shuddered and shook, and her hips were grinding into the palm of his hand. She was reaching, reaching, _reaching_ for her climax, but she couldn't quite get there. Finn knew what she needed. Did he dare?

"Please," she whined. "Please... more..." With a heavy sigh, Finn reached down and began unbuttoning her pants. Then he grabbed her pants and panties by the waist and pulled them down, opening her before him. Now he had access, and he began sliding one finger in and out of her over and over, making nasty, squelching noises as he did so. "Huhn, huhnnn," whined Huntress as he tormented her tender flesh. "Like it, little girl," he asked?

As he worked her over, her whole body began to get into it. Her head thrashed from side to side and her legs twitched, and her whole body would clench up. And her cries made him almost giddy. Finally, one last powerful orgasm hit her, causing her to scream. When she opened her eyes, she found him licking her sticky reddish-brown girl-goo off his fingers. Huntress blushed. Grinning down at her, he said, "maple syrup." That made her blush deepen.

Spreading her sleek, sexy legs, she murmured, "more... You know what I need..." Finn stroked her broad hips, and his eyes bored into hers. "Are you sure that's what you want," he whispered? Solemnly, she nodded. Finn unfastened his pants, letting his fat log fall out. Huntress had felt it against her when he was carrying her in Wizard City and again when they were spooning in the wilderness, but she'd still had no idea quite how big it was. Her hero pressed the fat knob against her snatch and waited. She knew this was her last chance. The pretty wood-nymph wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her face into the crook of his neck.

Huntress squealed when he shoved it in, and he could tell by the pitch that it had hurt her. At the same time her hands gripped his shoulders, and her legs were twined so tight around his waist that he couldn't have gotten off her if he tried. He tried to extract himself from her grip, but Huntress was having none of it. "It _hurts_, honey," she whined, "but it hurts so good..." Finn drew back and stuck her again. Again she squealed, and her hands clawed at his sides. "Shit, you're so _big_...," she gasped. Finn stopped right where he was, letting her get used to it. After a moment, she breathed, "go slow, baby."

Slowly he eased back. Then slowly he eased it in again. Eyes shut, she howled, "oooaaah..." Deep breath. "Oooaaaahh, shiiiit..." Finn grimaced. It was like screwing a vice. He was having trouble taking it slow. After all the teasing and weeks of being away from his wife, he wanted to shoot off. Gritting his teeth and shaking his head, Finn held on, slowly screwing her as she shook and shuddered beneath him. Her mouth hung open, and she continued to moan and whine. Her hands clawed at his shoulders, but she didn't have any fingernails, so it hardly hurt. Over and over again he shoved his pole into her tight snatch, gritting his teeth and trying not to cum too quick, while the slinky wood-nymph squeezed his shoulders and tried to cut him in half with her thighs. Shaking and shuddering, Huntress buried her face against his neck and screamed as he sent her crashing over the edge.

She was breathing hard when he stopped. "Y-you didn't shoot off," she whined. Finn blushed. He'd wanted to make sure she got off. Taking his head in her hands, she pulled his face to hers and said, "rail me hard, baby. Shoot your stuff in me." Turned on in spite of the risk and the _wrong_ he was doing, Finn began to do just that. Drawing back, he powered his thick pipe back into her belly. Then he did it again, even harder. Faster and faster he boned the sexy sorceress, causing her body to shake, his hips making a clapping sound as they crashed into hers again and again.

Huntress was beside herself, screaming and wailing fit to wake the dead. Her hands were going to bruise his shoulders so tight did she grip him, and he had to grab her wrists and hold them up over her head to stop her. The feel of that–being so helpless and open before him, drove her crazy. Eyes closed, hips wriggling all over the place as she howled and moaned with each jab of the stick, Huntress was lost in ecstasy. It was the best she'd ever had. Finally, she went crashing over the edge again, screaming so loud her voice cracked. Finn could take no more. Jamming his rod in deep, he shot his goo inside her, feeling much like he'd given her every drop he had.

It took a long few moments to realize he'd all but collapsed on top of her. Jumping up in fear of hurting her, he pulled his soft prick out of her, and his goo came flooding out after, soaking her pants and panties. Not that Huntress seemed to care. Grinning like a madwoman, she reached up and stroked his chest. There was a very dangerous emotion in her eyes just then. He murmured, "we should get going..." The wizard gave him a sly look and said, "yeah... We should."

Finn got up and started pulling himself together, while Huntress lay there a moment longer, still watching him. Irritated, he asked, "need some help?" She chuckled, "maybe..." Finn knew better than to take the bait. If he did, they'd be rolling around on the ground again, fucking like rabbits. He was ashamed to admit that he'd really enjoyed that. He'd expected that he would be too ashamed to get off, but his dick had liked it just fine. He'd have had to call his rod 'sore but satisfied'.

Finally Huntress got to her feet, tugging her pants and panties back up. Then she stuffed her boobies back under her tunic and laced herself up. Her eyes were on him the whole time, suggesting that maybe he ought to do it himself. The hero glanced away. He knew better, just as he knew that he could never do this again. He was in terror of what this would do to his family.

Done dressing, Huntress stepped up next to him and stood there a moment as if waiting on something. Then, grinning a mad little grin, she took his hand, twined her fingers in his, and set off. Finn couldn't do anything but follow. Holding hands, the twosome set off for Oceanside. Finn couldn't help noticing that she was walking funny. He'd hurt her, and he was afraid he'd done damage. At the same time, she'd seemed to really get off on it. What was wrong with them? He'd thought Huntress didn't even _like_ him. Now, not only did she want him to rail her, she was showing signs of a dangerous sort of attraction.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

"Ever been here before, donk," murmured Huntress. Finn shook his head. He'd seen it from a distance, but his fear of the open water had kept him away. "I have," sighed Huntress. His eyes found hers, asking the question. Flushing, she said, "bad memories..." Over the last hours, as they'd talked–_really_ talked–she'd admitted that most of her memories were bad ones. "Lost my first real fight here," she sighed. "Ended up bleeding in my guts and needing a hospital." A couple of slavers had kidnaped her aunt and dragged her to this place. Huntress had been the one member of their community with the guts to come here to rescue her. She'd lost a fight with the slavers and been left for dead. Only her will to live had kept her going.

"Did you... is she...," murmured Finn? The concern was touching. "She bashed one of them in the head one night," sighed the wizard. He'd come to get him a piece of ass, and ended up with a fractured skull. "She was a tough old bitch," chuckled the wizard. "Guess you guys have to be," sighed Finn. She could _hear_ the indignation in his voice. Taking his hand, the wizard said, "still wish we had boys." He was still resisting. She could sense his unhappiness. He didn't take her hand, just let his hang there limp in hers. The wood nymph took no offense. This was just the start. Stepping off, she said, "I know a place to hole up. Then we can search for aliens."

The wizard led him down into the town. The place was haunting in its strange beauty. It was like ugly got turned upside down. There were jumbles of broken cement, and the pavement came buckled and warped seemingly on every street. Buildings leaned drunkenly, and there were jagged shards of glass hung in windows in a dizzying array of shapes and patterns that caught the fading sunlight, covering the streets in a strange iridescent glow. This was his birthright. This was the last of the human civilization that had destroyed itself. It made him proud of what he was and sad that there seemed to be nothing left but destruction.

"No day-dreaming, donk," admonished the wizard. The mutants here in Oceanside were quick to use blade or club on anybody they thought was an easy mark. The wizard twined her arm in his, saying, "you need to obviously be my boyfriend, Finn. Our lives may depend on it." Finn flushed. Her boyfriend. What would he tell Simone? At the same time, it felt _right_. There was something about Huntress that spoke to him.

One hand on his sword, Finn scanned the scene, making eye-contact with the myriad ne'er-do-wells giving the duo the eye. He could see it in their eyes. They wanted her. They would have taken her the minute they thought they could get away with it. She was just a piece of meat to them. His eyes discouraged their looks. They knew who he was. Nobody wanted to challenge Finn the Human.

Huntress led him through those dangerous streets, as the twisted beings who called this city home watched them from doorways and street corners. An ugly part of him understood what his dad had been trying to tell him. Humans had left this place behind. They'd left it for these freaks. Another part of him felt bad for them. Why did they have to live like this? And yet another piece of him gave a ready answer. They had chosen this. They chose to be here in this place like this, living like this. They chose to kidnap women from other places, and they chose to live in evil–just like the people of Thief City.

"This is it," said Huntress, as she approached a massive building that looked like it had been chopped in half at some point in the distant past. Jagged iron beams jutted up from the building's crown, looking like strange upside down icicles in rusty red. Finn fell in at her back, his sword arm loose and ready, as she went through the door. The room beyond was much like the hall in Bonnie's palace–big and broad and open. Only it was _more_ so. The vast space made Bonnie's home look like the treehouse. Statues were scattered around the room, and there was a pool there in the center. Pictures hanging on the walls, and heavy wooden furniture scattered around the room serving as card-tables and places for drinking reminded him of the wrecked castle he'd held his prank party in. _Bad memory, Finn,_ thought the hero. That had gone pretty badly, with him being scared by his own past life.

As they crossed the room, an ugly, wart-faced humanoid, with skin the color of lemons straightened from where he'd been leaning against the wall. Leering at Huntress, he asked, "how much will you take for her?" The idea, coming on the heels of Huntress's story about her aunt and the disgusting things his dad had done to Bonnie and the evil he'd found in Bonnie's kingdom, had Finn seeing red. Before the guy could expound on that question, Finn's sword was burying itself in his gut.

Huntress's mouth came open, and she stared at him. Finn grabbed her by the arm and dragged her along, saying, "where's this hostel?" "Up ahead, donk," rumbled the wizard. "You better hope he doesn't have friends." "You told me to act like your boyfriend," retorted Finn. The wood nymph led him up to a massive steel door–just now swung wide to reveal a glittering room on the far side. "Welcome to the best hotel this side of Bonnie's place," rumbled Huntress.

Minutes later the pair strolled into the honeymoon suite. As Finn watched from the doorway, the sorceress went into the master bedroom and tossed her gear on the massive bed that stood there, laying claim to it. As he watched, she sat down and skinned off those long boots and then her socks after them. With a heartfelt sigh, she wiggled her newly-free toes. Then, she drew the mask off her face, and shed the cloak. All the while, Finn watched her, his mind going in crazy circles. It was clear she wasn't going to stop taking off her clothes, so Finn told her, "I'm'a go in the next room..."

Finn closed the door and slumped against it. He was in a really bad spot. He'd cheated on Simone. What was he going to do? The sound of the shower going was a painful reminder of just how badly he'd screwed up. _I have to make this the one and only time,_ he thought. He wasn't sure how to do that with the little sex-bomb in the next room. He was afraid of her–not because of her magic and evil temper. He was afraid because she was right about him. He was intensely attracted to her. The hero went to the small secondary bed and lay himself down, intending to think. Instead, he fell quickly into exhausted sleep.

Finn woke to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Yawning, Finn rose to answer it. Groggy, he'd forgotten about his earlier performance with Huntress. Opening the door, Finn asked, "whassup?" The sight on the far side of the door wiped the smile right off his face. Huntress. She was standing there in her cloak, the hood shadowing her face, reminding him of his crazy predicament. "You're supposed to be my boyfriend, donk," she reminded him. "Did you forget?" Finn stared at her. He didn't know what to say. He'd thought... What? That she'd be satisfied with having gotten him to cheat on Simone once?

Blinking owlishly, the hero replied, "I thought I did that with the joker downstairs." "Boy, you sure don't know much about relationships," retorted the wood nymph. "After smashing some guy for saying something like that, you're supposed to get laid..." Defensively, Finn said, "I didn't do it for that!" Grinning, she replied, "which is all the more reason for you to get laid."

Brushing back the cloak, she revealed that she was wearing a sexy purple nightie underneath along with nearly-transparent purple panties, and she looked fucking _hot_! Finn stared at her in shock as he realized she'd been carrying that stuff in her bag. When he didn't make a move to invite her in, she just brushed past him. Finn turned and stared at her some more. "It was fucking good," chuckled the sorceress. "Now I want some more." It was three hours until sunset–plenty of time to have some fun before work.

When he didn't make a move, she asked, "well?" Glancing away, Finn said, "we can't do this. I-I'm married..." "I don't see a wife," retorted the wizard. Finn flushed. "Tell you what," said she in a teasing tone, "give me a little of what you give her, and I'll go." His jaw dropped. "C'mon," said she, as she walked over to him. Afraid of where this would lead, Finn retreated before her. She backed him up all the way to the couch. Finn backed into the couch and fell backwards. Standing over him, eyes burning into his, the wood nymph began to dance.

The sight of Huntress dancing, shaking that fantastic body of hers, set Finn's mouth to watering and his dong to getting hard. "I know you liked watching me dance," said Huntress with a grin. "I felt that big log when you were carrying me." She was bumping and grinding those sexy hips just like that day, and Finn flushed in memory. He'd had a stiffy that wouldn't quit. He'd wanted to rail the shit out of Huntress then and there. If Betty hadn't been there–along with a roomful of would-be rapists–he might have. She'd been offering. Looking back on it, thinking of the look in her eyes, he was sure she wanted him. Just like now.

One moment they were staring at each other, thinking about that moment months ago, the next Huntress was in his lap, and they were kissing, swapping spit as the sexy sorceress rubbed her hot body against his. When he grabbed a handful of her ass, the wizard-woman knew she had him. She could feel his hard dick underneath her ass, rubbing against her with just his pants and her panties in the way. Breaking that kiss, she teased him, "mmm... You sure you want me to walk away?"

For answer, Finn stood up, holding onto her cute little ass as he did so. He turned and dropped her on the couch, and, for a moment, she thought she'd said too much. Before she could say a word, he grabbed the waist of those silky drawers and snatched them down. The wizard squealed as he buried his face in her snatch. She smelled... _earthy_–like a forest in the rain. Finn took an experimental swipe with his tongue, lapping up some of her girl juice. Huntress had rarely had boyfriends willing to go down on her. The feel of that drove her crazy. With a shriek, she grabbed a handful of his hair, as her hips jumped, bumping his nose.

Finn kind of liked what he tasted, and he began to go down on her, noisily licking and sucking at her hot snatch, while he slid a thick finger in and out of her honey-pot. "Oooh," howled the wizard-woman, "_shit_!" Her hips rocked and jumped, and her back arched, as she clawed at his scalp. It didn't take long before she was going over the edge, giving his tongue a bath in her sticky syrup. "Mmm," moaned Finn as he continued to eat that tangy box. "Uhn... uhnn. Hhhnnnn... Shiiiiit," howled the sexy sorceress!

Finn teased her a little, getting her hotter and hotter until she was ready to go over the edge, then backing off until she was cussing him. Only when she was anxious to climax did he finish her off. Laying there, panting like she'd run a marathon, Huntress stared up at him. She wanted to suck him off now. It was something she usually used like bait for a fish–something to hook the mark and suck all the money out of his pocket–but she would have sucked Finn off in a heartbeat.

Climbing up over her, fisting that giant pecker, Finn smiled down at her. His face was _covered_ in her goo, and he looked _nasty_. Given the _expert_ way he'd done it to her, she just knew he did it to his precious Simone like that. When he grabbed her hair and pulled her face to his for a sloppy, _nasty_ kiss, she was certain of it. "Oooaaaah," moaned the beautiful wood-nymph as she felt that huge thing ease into her snatch. Her back arched, and her hands clawed at his side, as Finn slowly began to ride her. It wasn't as frantic as before, though it still felt like he was going to turn her poor pussy inside out or split her in half.

In just a few strokes, he had her screaming into his shoulder, her hands clawing at his back. Finn rubbed and stroked her perky boobies with his free hand, while he plowed her good. It was wrong. He knew it was wrong what he was doing, but it felt _sooo_ right. Her hot snatch squeezed his poor pecker hard enough that it was almost painful, and he knew he'd be a little sore too after this. He kissed her again, making her taste her own goo. She'd never tasted herself before. It was kind of a nasty feeling that just made her hotter and hornier.

Huntress shrieked painfully loud, and her hands clawed his shoulders. Eyes wide and mouth hanging open, she took deep, almost labored breaths as she said, "is... this... what you give her...? D'ya make her scr... _screeeaam_?!" Huntress pressed her face into his shoulder and whimpered. "Oh, glob," howled the beautiful woman. Now he had her loosened up a bit, Finn actually sped up. That really got her going.

Sitting up, pulling Huntress with him, Finn wrapped his arms around her. He began to ride her up and down his fat dick, really driving her crazy. Each time he jabbed it in her, she would practically shower him in her girl-juice. He couldn't imagine what the other hotel guests were hearing. She wanted them to know she was his girlfriend. He imagined they knew it for sure now. At the same time, he was really enjoying this, and he'd been struggling not to shoot off. Still, he couldn't hold out forever, and he found himself going faster and faster. When he could take no more, he slammed his meat home inside her one last time and began shooting his thick goo into her belly. That drove her ape, and she clutched her own stomach in heat.

Basking in the afterglow, Huntress stroked his face. He didn't look happy, and she knew why. He'd cheated again. Leaning in, she kissed his rough lips, savoring the feel of his battered face as she tried to kiss the scowl away. Mostly she succeeded. He slipped an arm around her waist and drew her close. She sighed. "I guess we should go find some aliens," muttered the wizard. Rising, the two went and took separate showers, cleaning off the evidence of their activities. Then, after securing their room, they slipped out into the fading sunlight.

Having been here before, Huntress led the way. Sword loose and ready, Finn followed in her boot-tracks as they went up and down through mounds of trash and refuse, around heaps of rubble that had been here long centuries, and past shady-characters who looked much like stock characters from some classic of literature. Finn made sure that they all knew that the wizard-woman was off limits with body-language and more overt gestures. Word had quickly spread about the slaver in the hotel, and the ugly mutants were quick to get out of their way.

With the sun well down in the sky, they came at last to the former harbor, which now served as a veritable graveyard of ships. Standing on the shore, Finn looked out on that amazing sight and whistled. The boats were flippin' _huge_. It was another of his legacies–the world that had belonged to humanity. They came in a dizzying variety, some as long as a building was tall. One actually had what looked like smashed and broken flying machines strewn across its deck. Another came festooned with arrays of antenna. Others came stacked with massive boxes. Most lay half-submerged and rusting. Scanning his pendant across the scene, Finn asked, "anything, Peebles?" "The long gray one, with the airplanes," said the Princess. "It will have the best technology–the most durable things. Some of its transmission and computer technology may still be usable." "That's where we'll start," said Finn. "Be careful, Finn," said Bonnie. "There may be radioactive power sources still inside." "_We_ will," rumbled the wizard, as she closed the lid on Finn's pendant.

"Didn't know you disliked Bonnie," rumbled Finn. "I don't like the way she looks at you," said Huntress. Hearing the jealousy in her voice, another epiphany hit Finn, and he said, "we... weren't ever really like that." "You're clueless, donk," muttered the wood nymph. "That bitch would have you in her bed in a minute if she could, and the flame-bitch would too." Finn glanced away. Deep down, he knew she was right. There were things there that didn't make sense if he looked at it any other way. Bonnie didn't like him dating, and she wasn't thrilled about him getting hitched to Simone. He'd thought she'd made peace with it.

"Let's go," muttered the wizard, as she stepped off. Finn fell in behind her, hands on his weapons. "There aren't any guys from the Crystal Prison," said he. "Not sure if any of them are even still alive." That took away one of the edges they had over these guys. They wouldn't know what they were dealing with until they were down in the bowels of that ship. "They won't have as much space to flank us," she reminded him. That took away some of their edge too. The fight would be close in, giving Finn a chance to whack them.

The big ship was far from shore, looking like a massive steel island sitting there in the ocean. A little cash got them a boat, and soon Finn was steering a course through jagged masts and rusted bits of lost civilization that jutted out of the water here and there. Huntress sat at the front of the boat, looking lost in thought. Finn's mind went over and over her words. His eyes had been figuratively opened. He'd spent the last weeks doing everything in his power to dodge temptation, and he'd thought most of that came from inside himself. He'd taken lots of cold showers and endlessly bitched himself out for looking at the pretty girls that kept falling into his path. Now he began to wonder. How much of that was them actively pursuing him?

He would never have guessed Phoebe would jerk him off that way. Instead of asking him to go sit somewhere else or to cover his eyes, his ex had all but come on to him and even suggested he think about her while she was jerking on his whang. Bonnie and Huntress had both clung to him out in the wilderness, making it hard to keep his hands to himself. He'd been a little embarrassed to be getting a boner from having his arms around his almost-girlfriend, but the reality was that she and the wizard-weenie could have huddled up together and avoided the whole thing. Things had been hard enough when he thought it was just his own shameful reactions. Realizing that there were girls who wanted to take him from Simone just made it that much worse. And the worst question of all? How far did it go? How far were they willing to take it? His 'involvement' with Huntress suggested that some would take it too far.

He was still reeling and still trying to figure out what he was going to do when the boat finally bumped up against the rusted hulk of the former aircraft carrier. "C'mon, donk," rumbled the wood nymph wizard. "And no day-dreaming." Finn loosened his sword as she tied off their ride. Then, climbing up through a rusted doorway, he reached out and levered his partner up after him.

Following one of the wizard's weird glowing balls, the pair began their explorations. Up and down the halls they went, ducking through narrow hatchways as they made their way up and up. The strange ship was _vast_, presenting Finn with a strange sense of his own place in the universe. This was what Bonnie aspired to. He saw that now. Her kingdom, with its trains and trams and electric lights, was a pale imitation of the world humans had lost. Bonnie had spent over eight-hundred years just getting that far. Finn was at once proud to be human and really sad at everything they had lost.

As his mind formed that thought, the twosome stepped through a hatch and into an enormous open space. The ceiling above was lost in darkness, and they were surrounded by an ocean of black, lit by Huntress's orb and a second lightsource ahead of them. Finn knew instinctively who's light that was even before he heard one of the aliens say, "slag 'em!"

"Huntress," shouted Finn. "Offense!" He got loose, as the aliens cut loose with their weapons. The wizard fell behind him, as the Finn-Sword went to work, deflecting the lethal bolts of light. By silent act of will, the wood nymph sent the glowing orb shooting like a meteor across the empty hangar deck and into the midst of the alien fighters. Taking her hand, Finn darted to his left, getting out of the space he'd just been standing in and making it harder for the aliens to spot them. The creatures fired wildly at Huntress's orb, trying to extinguish it. Meanwhile, the wizard laid them out one by one, slinging bolts of lightning and spell-arrows until only one was left.

The last man lay crumpled against the landing gear of a wrecked jet as Finn and Huntress approached. He laughed. Done in by a primitive with a sword. It was an ignominious end for an illustrious career as a merc. "Go ahead, kid," growled the creature. "Finish me." Finn instead prodded his knee with the tip of the Finn-Sword, saying, "nope. Got questions." The alien frowned up at him. "You wouldn't dare," growled the alien. Smiling, the hero nodded at his companion, "she would." The alien's fearsome visage swivelled to the cold, heartless eyes of the wood nymph wizard. The wizard gave him an evil smile, as her hand began to glow. The alien started talking then. Finn fished out his pendant and got Bonnie on the line as the dieing creature spilled his guts. Bonnie eagerly took notes on her end, even asking pointed questions as the creature wheezed out answers. In the end, they had more questions than he had time to answer them. The alien bled out in front of them.

"Good work, guys," said Bonnie. "Need you to get back here right away." "Was this what you needed," asked Finn? Bonnie sighed, "it's just what I feared, Finn. There's more than one group, and they're working together to build a transmitter capable of reaching their home galaxy. These guys were just one of the groups sent out to retrieve whatever tech they can find, but there's others." "What do we do," asked the wizard? "For now, return to the kingdom," said Bonnie. "I have to make some arrangements with my fellow Princesses." Bonnie closed the connection from her end. "C'mon, donk," said the wizard, as she stepped off. "We can have a lot of fun before we have to head out in the morning." Finn groaned. Was this never going to end?


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

He didn't want to go. He'd only been back a couple of days, and while Bonnie had let him spend the entire time at home with Simone and Billy, he didn't want to leave again. If absence made the heart grow fonder, he fell more in love with Simone every time he left here. They'd had a fabulous night last night, and Finn had slept like a log. Yawning, Simone sat up and stretched, making even that look sexy. Climbing out of bed, she gathered on her bathrobe, saying, "rise and shine, honey. Time to go to work." "Do I have to," groaned Finn? Simone laughed. Just like a schoolboy. "Yes, honey," she said, "'cause the whole wide world's countin' on you!" Finn groaned. He'd saved the world. Three times. In a teasing voice, Simone reminded her hubby, "if you get up now, we can have some fun before you go..."

Those words had Finn out of bed like a shot from a gun. He snatched up his wife and rushed into the bathroom. Inside the bathroom, they ran the water a few minutes to get it hot, and then Finn all but dragged his lady into the shower. Excited as anything, he began to wash Simone's beautiful body, marveling at how lucky he was. He soaped her long, lean legs, slowly working his way up to her broad hips. Then, working his way around her snatch, her ran the sponge over her tummy and up to her big, dangling boobies.

Simone thought her honey was a natural at sex because he touched her so nice, and he never failed to get her off. Excited herself and eager to send her man off with a pleasant memory, she took up a towel and started washing him too. Finn moaned softly as she stroked his pecker and scrubbed his hairy balls. He had worked his way around to her ass, and now he scrubbed the creamy pale skin. She was blessed and doubly blessed. She was fortunate to even be alive, and she was blessed to have this man as her savior and husband.

Feeling Finn's big pecker go hard in her hand and knowing he was running late for work, the horny heroine turned around and bent over the rim of the tube, shaking that big, beautiful ass at him. Finn didn't need any further invitation. With a grin a mile wide, he pressed his dong against her opening and eased it in. "Ooohh," squeaked Simone. "Oh, baby! Do it!" Reaching around her, he got his hands on those big, beautiful boobies as he began to rail her. His hips slapped into her big bottom, making the flesh jiggle and making a clapping sound. He was the luckiest man in Ooo.

His beautiful wife moaned and whined as his big dick reamed her out. They were back in the rhythm after weeks of trying to pull together following Billy's birth and the move back into their house. Simone was finding that she enjoyed the sex all the more now that the Crown was out of the way. Her hand slipped back, and she rubbed her button, while playing with her own boobies, as Finn lost himself in screwing her. He ran his fingers through her hair–he loved her hair–and he nibbled on her shoulders and neck like he wanted to devour her. Faster and faster they went, with Simone ramming that hot ass back at him as he slammed his meat into her belly over and over. With a roar, Finn shot his goo into her, but he kept reaming her out with his slowly softening dong until she too went over.

They were a little wiped out when they finished, but they managed to pull themselves together enough to finish washing. Then Finn rushed through the process of getting dressed and gathering up his weapons and gear. Standing at the door, Finn said his goodbyes, kissing his son and wife both. Letting her bathrobe fall open, Simone admonished him, "remember what's waiting on you, sweetie." Finn swore that he would. Carrying his sword and backpack, Finn set off. His happiness lasted only as long as he was within sight of the treehouse. After, as the weight of the world came figuratively piling up on him, he found himself growing depressed. Maybe something was changing inside of him, but he was no longer excited by adventures. He wanted to be home every night to see Simone.

That said nothing of his ongoing problems with Huntress. He'd done something he now really regretted, and he was now in the ugly position of keeping secrets. He didn't like that, but he didn't want to lose Simone either. He'd have to find ways to avoid being alone with the prickly wizard. As he approached the gates of the Candy Kingdom, one of his Banana-Guard minions stepped out, announcing, "morning, Captain Finn. Princess Bubblegum wants you at the palace right away." "Thanks," replied Finn. That was certainly not what he was hoping to hear, but he expected it. They still had to run down the rest of the aliens.

Knowing that any urgent mission for Bonnie was likely to involve Huntress, Finn was on guard as he entered the square in front of the palace gates. He was sure she hadn't given up on him, and he was expecting Sexy Huntress when he encountered the wizard at the gates to Bonnie's palace. Instead, it was back to the woman he remembered. She'd come dressed for work with a full quiver, her bracer, and a handful of throwing knives besides. No shorts, skirts, or tight pants today. At first that made him think that she was in Evil-Wizard mode, but she was surprisingly genial as she strolled up, greeting him with, "morning, donk. Get laid last night?" Finn's blush said it all. Still, far from being angry, the wizard announced, "Bonnie wants us in her council chamber." Then she did something shocking. She took his hand and started walking. Finn immediately pulled his hand away. Instead of blowing up at him, she merely smiled, and that smile seemed to say, "you'll be mine someday."

The pair went up into the palace where they were immediately ushered into the council chamber. Finn was shocked to find that most every princess there was in Ooo was there. The only ones missing all lived too far away to reach the Candy Kingdom on short notice. Finn scanned the room, feeling a little nervous and even embarrassed. There were a whole pack of women here who wanted a piece of him. Now that his eyes had figuratively been opened, he saw threats to the peace he had with Simone.

Squaring up, Finn walked down into the room and between the tables where the princesses sat. Bonnie was at the head table, and he walked straight up to her, announcing, "you sent for me, Princess?" "Yes, Finn," said Bonnie. "I've just been sharing the current situation with my colleagues. We were discussing solutions to the problem." Finn frowned in puzzlement. He thought the solution was pretty obvious. Those guys had to go.

As if in acknowledgment of his thought, Bonnie said, "we have decided that the mission to pursue the remaining alien mercenaries will continue." Huntress rolled her eyes. The Royals of Ooo had decided they could keep doing what they were already doing? That was really big of them. In irritated tones, she asked, "and what kind of support are we getting?" Raspberry Princess spoke up, then, announcing, "our armies are geared more towards ceremony and civil defense. The Crowned Heads of Ooo have long sought to limit the means by which wars may be waged to prevent another great war." Which was to say they had piles of spears and that was it. The only people with anything stronger were Bonnie and Phoebe, and both of them had stretched their resources taking down the pirates the first time.

The irritated wizard turned to her own 'Royal' and growled, "a couple more wizards would help..." The Grand Master answered that impertinent suggestion with, "we are engaged in researching a cloak that would hide Ooo from invaders." Huntress rolled her eyes. A waste of time and resources that would never provide anything useful. They couldn't fucking hide the whole planet! Even if they could cloak it, nobody would be fooled. Ooo was still going to be there!

Seeming to guess the wood nymph's thoughts, Bonnie interjected, "the Grand Master believes that, if we hide Ooo, future invaders may believe that the Serpent was hatched." Which would explain the missing planet. Huntress was only barely mollified. Returning to the previous thread, Finn reminded them, "those guys are still out there, trying to build up a phone to call home..." Nodding, Bonnie said, "we've got a special subcommittee that will be discussing that, Finn. I'd appreciate it if you and Huntress could go to my private office and wait. We'll join you shortly."

Finn and his companion went back out the door and down the hall to Bonnie's office. Slipping inside, they shut the door, and Finn went to the window. There he stood, staring out at the construction crews that were working night and day to repair the damage. In the three weeks they'd been gone, progress had been made on repairing the damaged Gumball Guardian, but it was still out of commission. They were in a bad spot. Emeraude came up beside him, and her hand casually stroked his. He turned and glared at her. Smiling, she murmured, "a man of rules, huh?" Finn's face went hot, as she said, "ok. I'm game." Finn found himself really hoping for a little more help because he wasn't sure he could handle another trip alone with Huntress.

Fortunately, the door opened behind them, admitting Bonnie, Raspberry Princess, the Grand Master, Slime Princess, and Breakfast Princess. Finn had been expecting to see Phoebe, but apparently she had remained in the council chamber. Guessing where his mind was going, Bonnie explained, "I left Phoebe in charge. It was supposed to be her year to host the annual meeting anyway."

The royals took seats before Bonnie's desk. Finn and Huntress found themselves on the hot seat, as the other royals all began peppering them with questions. Raspberry Princess wanted to limit their response. She wanted to keep Ooo in its current state, limiting the proliferation of weaponry more advanced than spears and swords. That immediately aroused Slime Princess's ire. She was terrified of what the aliens might do next, and she was rather insistent that Bonnie be given resources to build an army of Gumball Guardians to patrol the entirety of Ooo to protect them. Bonnie did her best to mediate and steer the conversation, while Breakfast Princess made moon-eyes at Finn. And the Grand Master? He played with his cats.

Out of patience, Finn finally interrupted with, "none of that matters if we don't catch these guys! There's nearly a hundred still out there!" His outburst shut both princesses up. Turning to Bonnie, Finn said, "we need people looking for them, and we need to get busy chasing them, PB." Semi-reluctantly, Raspberry Princess agreed to put some of her guards on the job of scouting for them. Slime Princess wanted to go back to bickering about weapons, but Breakfast Princess moved the conversation on to the subject of supporting Finn.

The pretty breakfast person announced, "I'll support Finn with supplies and a place to rest. Since a lot of these creeps headed into the wastelands, it only makes sense. And it will help calm my people..." "Thanks, BP," said Finn. She gave him a sweet smile. Huntress would gleefully have cut her throat. Here was another bitch who wanted a piece of her boyfriend, and, as usual, the donk was just too blind to see it. "I need you to leave today," said Princess Bubblegum. "Finn? I'll take care of letting Simone know you have to go. I need you to go out to the observatory at the edge of town. I've got some things there that will help you." "Ok, Peebles," said Finn. He headed out, with Huntress falling in behind him.

Outside the palace gates, the wizard announced, "I'm going to go grab my pack." "I'll see you at the observatory," replied Finn. She could see it in his eyes–the fear. He was afraid of her. At the same time, there was a fascination there too–even a hunger. He'd always hungered to taste her, from the day they'd met. "Don't worry, baby," breathed the wood nymph. "I'll make sure to pack something you'll really like." And with no further word, she strolled off, bound for her apartment. A shaken Finn stared after her. He didn't want to go out on this mission with her for fear of her finding another opportunity to try and get in his pants. At the same time, he'd be lieing if he said he didn't want to rail her again. At the end of the day, though, he couldn't get out of it. His dad's goons were still out there, raising hell, and Huntress was the only help he was going to get. "Willpower, dude," said Finn. "If you say no, nothing can happen." Promising to keep his hands to himself, Finn set off for the Observatory.

Finn found himself waiting there for over an hour before Bonnie finally arrived. He'd spent the bulk of the time stewing in a strange toxic soup of desire, guilt, and fear. Fortunately Huntress also took her time. He feared she'd be trying to put the moves on him the whole time. PB looked harried when she came walking up to the Observatory, and she had Phoebe with her. "You ok, Peebles," asked Finn? All business in spite of the soft makeup she wore, Bonnie replied, "fine, Finn. Where's Huntress?" "Right here," announced the wizard. She had a much larger bag. At Finn's look of dismay, she said, "figured we'd need some extra stuff. You wear jockeys, donk?" Blushing, he replied, "used to..." Giggling, Phoebe asked, "Simone?" His look of utter embarrassment said it all.

Clearing her throat, Bonnie said, "inside, everyone..." The others followed her inside the observatory, with Finn asking how things had gone at the Princess meeting. "Bad," replied Phoebe. "Whole lot of fear. Not much substance." Nobody had idea the first what to do, and they had been stepping all over each other to throw the problem in Bonnie's lap. Some would gleefully have put the Ice Crowns back on Simon and Simone and told them to freeze the Fire Kingdom. Phoebe was still furious about that. Now that he'd heard that moronic idea, Finn was pissed too and wanted to know who would suggest something so stupid. Bonnie deflected that with, "they're scared, Finn."

The pretty princess led them into an underground space beneath the observatory. There they found a battered truck. Said the candy royal, "I built this when I was young." Before she'd built the Candy Kingdom, she'd traveled extensively, exploring Ooo and learning. "Before the war, vehicles like these were used for recreation," said she. "But, short of flying, they happen to be the best vehicles to be found for traveling without roads." Frowning, Huntress asked, "you know how to run this thing, donk?" 'Cause she sure didn't. Finn, who was busy running his hands along the sides of the battered off-roader, replied, "ch'yeah, man. I owned a truck... Found it in the woods. Banana-Man'n'me fixed her up. We called her Hot Daniel." Frowning, he admitted, "wrecked it savin' PB from the lizard-dude that kidnaped her."

Flushing, Bonnie moved the conversation onward, explaining, "I've outfitted it with a miniature fusion power source. It should run for more than a year without refueling." Nodding, Huntress opened the rear passenger door, nearly whacking Phoebe in the head with it. Finding the rear of the cab outfitted with a fold-down bunk, she announced, "dibs on the bed." As the irritated elemental cussed her, she threw the bags she'd brought in the back. As Phoebe sputtered, Bonnie opened the driver's door, showing Finn the controls. "It will be very similar to Banana-Man's truck, Finn," said she. "I've outfitted it with a longer-range hologram projector." "Cool, PB," said Finn, as he tossed his pack in the back.

"There's more," said the Princess. Beckoning the pair over to a corner of the garage, she drew out another quiver full of arrows. Huntress's eyes bugged out in surprise. "After studying you, I made these," said Bonnie. "They're kinetic energy weapons like the crude ones you usually use." The wizard glared at her. Turning to Finn, she said, "I also made up a jacket for you, Finn. It should provide you some protection against their guns." "Thanks, Peebles," said Finn, as he accepted her gift. He grabbed the candy-royal and gave her a bone-crushing hug. Flushing, Bonnie admitted, "Phoebe helped make it."

Finn turned to his old flame and smiled. "It's also fire-resistant," chuckled Phoebe. Finn swiftly donned the jacket and zipped it up. Then he hugged his other old girlfriend. It was a little awkward on many levels. Knowing what Phoebe felt like when she was solid–just how _real_ she was–made him a little uncomfortable, and he quickly let go. Phoebe quickly stepped back. Her eyes said it. Those feelings were still there. Finn gave her a smile and said, "see you later, Phoebes." "Take care of yourself, Finn," murmured the elemental. Without a further word, Finn climbed into the truck and fired it up. Waving to Bonnie and Phoebe, he put it in gear and rolled out of the garage.

Finn drove out across the countryside, headed east towards the Breakfast Kingdom and ultimately the wastelands beyond. As the Candy Kingdom receded into the distance, Huntress leaned over, wrapped her arms around his, and lay her head on his shoulder. Finn sighed. It was going to be a _long_ trip.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

The creature was just as fearsome as Breakfast Princess had been given to believe. He was a veritable giant–seven feet tall–with layers of ropey muscle under his strange yellowish skin. His orange eyes showed a terrible intelligence as he glared at the guards and the other breakfast people, and he was ugly from the strange ridges around his eyes and the crest that ran across the crown of his head all the way to his taloned toes. Indeed, Breakfast Princess found herself close to pissing her panties just looking at him. She very nearly dove behind her own throne when the evil creature tried to struggle against the mound of chains heaped on him.

Coolly, Huntress Wizard kicked him in the back of his knee, causing him to go down, then smacked him on the temple with the butt of her knife. Finn, who Breakfast would have expected to do that, simply stood back while his evil partner ruthlessly jerked the creature forward. "Need a cell," growled the wizard. "A _sturdy_ one." Nodding emphatically, the royal shouted for her guards to go and prepare one.

Huntress led the evil alien away in company of the guards, leaving Finn there with the princess and her court. "Hey, BP," said Finn, as he came up to the throne. "I don't understand how you can be so calm," said the breakfast beauty. Finn shrugged and said, "he's not that bad. Surrendered right away after we killed the other three." Toast Princess did a double-take, as she registered those words. There had been three more even fiercer specimens! And Finn had done in all of them! Her heart skipped a beat, and the breakfast person found herself moving forward to meet the handsome hero.

Having reached adolescence, she'd undergone the 'change', becoming more humanoid, and now she stood nearly as tall as her older sister. Finn couldn't help noticing the change. Toast Princess was actually rather pretty. Of a body type with her older sister, she had golden-brown skin to BP's yellow, nut-brown hair, and a slender body-shape under a butter-yellow dress. "Hi, Finn," said she, and Finn was astonished to realize that this was the little squirt who used to follow Breakfast Princess around. She'd grown up! As she threw her arms around him and hugged him, Finn was startled by just how much she'd grown! Just like her older sister, she had a nice rack.

Finn gave her his usual 'aw shucks' and 'no big deal' as he extricated himself from her grip. Knowing now how dangerous the female species could be, he wasn't taking any chances. Far from being offended, Toast giggled at him. An irritated Breakfast Princess interposed herself between her younger sister and the handsome hero. Today she came wearing a long, flowing dress made of wafer-thin slices of toast stitched together. The strapless gown bared her shoulders and showed off her plump boobies.

"Thank-you, Finn the Human," murmured the pretty princess. "No prob, Bob," said Finn. Shy and awkward as ever, Finn ducked looking her in the eyes. He was looking everywhere but at her. It made her want to laugh considering the fact that they had made out five years ago at the Princess Potluck and nearly gone all the way. With a sweet smile, she said, "come along, Finn. We'll get you a nice bed to sleep in and a nice, hot bath..." "Uh, what about Hun...," burbled Finn? "Oh, my sisters will take care of her," said Breakfast Princess. Latching onto his arm, she dragged him towards the doors behind the throne.

The beautiful royal led Finn upstairs, climbing the levels of the palace until they reached the floor just below the Royal Suites. Finn got a sudden sinking feeling, as he began to wonder just what she was up to. Huntress had opened his eyes, and he no longer looked at girls the same anymore. Where he'd been used to seeing harmless flirtation and kind thoughts, he'd now begun to see danger and deadly ideas that could wreck his whole world. It was something of a bitter irony that he was in danger of wrecking his life with the very person who'd given him that epiphany.

Stopping outside one of the most luxurious rooms, Breakfast produced a key and opened the door. Ushering Finn inside, she said, "a suite worthy of a hero..." The room had a giant bed shaped like a stack of French-toast, a waffle-shaped stack of drawers for clothes, and soft, fluffy pancake-batter carpet. It smelled heavenly–like all his favorite breakfast food. "Wow, Beeps," said Finn. "This place is awesome..." Smiling flirtatiously, Breakfast teased his chin with the tips of her fingers, saying, "only the best for you, Finn." She strolled over to the balcony and threw the door open, saying, "you can come out here if you like... It's the best view. My balcony's right above this one. You could practically climb up to my room from here."

Finn took in the breath-taking view. He could see deep into the grasslands from up here. It was a lot nicer view than the wastes to the east. Slipping an arm around his, Breakfast said, "it's a big trust, this room, Finn..." He glanced over at her and found her smiling back. "You're right below me," she said. "I'd be trusting you not to come up to my room and ravage me." Finn's face went red hot as he realized that she wasn't _trusting_ him. She was suggesting he do just that. _Darn it, Huntress,_ thought Finn! He was happier being clueless. Now he feared he'd lose all his friends!

Taking him by the hand, she led him over to the bathroom and showed him the massive shower. "The one in my room's bigger," said she, "but this one's big enough that you could shower with somebody else if you were cozy." Grinning that devious grin, she turned to go, suggesting, "why don't you go get cleaned up?" Finn was glad to have her gone. He'd have to be careful here. The last thing he wanted was her getting the wrong idea. It was crazy! He was _married_! She knew it because she had been at the wedding! Why was she trying to hit on him? And it didn't help that he wasn't entirely sure with girls still. He kept wanting to think that it was _him_. He wanted to believe he was imagining all this. _I still might be,_ he decided. Huntress, he knew, was paranoid, and the fact that she was fighting Simone to try and have him for herself didn't help. "Shower, Finn," said he, as he gave himself a sniff. "Nice, warm shower."

Finn was happily washing and scrubbing away when he heard the door to his room open. Nervously, he called out, "who's there?" There was no answer, and Finn found himself tensing for a conflict. He never quite forgot how dangerous his dad's dudes were. Momentarily, the shower stall door opened, and a slim form slipped in. Huntress threw herself on him, pressing her hot body against his and catching his lips with hers. Finn instinctively grabbed her hot little ass and pulled her closer. The wizard woman wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Momentarily he had her pressed against the wall of the shower stall. Breaking that hot kiss, she asked, "miss me?" Breathing hard, his blood boiling, Finn replied, "ch'yeah..."

Finn pressed his hard dong into her hot oven, bringing a shriek from her thin lips. Momentarily, he was railing her hard. Finn caught her lips with his own as she screamed and squealed. Her hot body wriggled in his arms, her hips gyrating and bucking, while her hands clawed at his back. Those fucking cunts had tried to separate them. They'd tried to stonewall her, and she knew why. Just like seemingly every other fucking cunt in Ooo, they wanted _her_ man. The bitches. _Fuck them,_ thought Emeraude! The feel of that huge thing rubbing her button and Finn's powerful hands squeezing her ass was getting her hotter and hotter. When she felt him shooting his stuff in her belly, she went over the edge too, screaming long and loud.

Her legs felt like rubber when he let her down. Laying against him, she sighed, "I fantasized about this when we had t'use the vampire's shower..." Chuckling, Finn admitted, "me too." She'd been the unobtainable girl. Tipping her lips up to his, he kissed her gently. Then turning her to face the hot stream of water, he began scrubbing her hot little body, paying special attention to her abused snatch. It didn't take long before that became rubbing her button and making her climax.

Standing there in the shower, holding her, he found himself reflecting on all they'd been through. That was a lot of it. He was sinning, and he knew it. At the same time, she was his partner. "W-will you come by tonight...," she murmured? It was dangerous. They were nearly home, and there was a risk his wife would find out. Finn sighed, "yeah... I'll... I'll find a way." He loved Simone, and he didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to lose her and his son. At the same time... somehow he wanted this.

Drying off, the two climbed back into their clothes, and Huntress slipped out of Finn's room, headed for her own room on the bottom floor. For want of a better idea, Finn sat down, clicked on the hologram projector, and flicked his way through the channels, trying to see what passed for entertainment in Breakfast Princess's kingdom. He wanted–_needed_–anything that would distract him from the reality of what he'd been doing. While he watched the tube, there came a knocking at the door. Frowning, Finn rose to go find out who it was.

When he opened the door, he found Toast Princess standing there at the door, wearing a smile–and a much shorter, much sexier dress. Finn's eyes popped at the sight of her plump little boobies pushed up and out in a strapless short dress in a reddish brown color with butter-yellow highlights. "Uh... hey, Toaster... Whassup," he asked? Brushing past him, she said, "thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing..." Finn's hackles went up. Leaving the door open, he turned and walked across the room to her, figuring that she wouldn't be doing anything dangerous with the door open.

Turning to face him, she said, "you've certainly become a hunk, Finn..." Smiling, Finn told her, "and you've grown up really pretty..." She gave him a dazzling smile, and he found himself wondering what the youngest of the three sisters was going to grow into. "You really think I'm pretty," asked the pretty young lady? "Yeah," said Finn. She was also _fourteen_. Dudes weren't supposed to be sexing _kids_! Now he kind of understood how Bonnie felt about him. "So how's things going in the Breakfast Kingdom," asked Finn?

Toast sighed heavily and said, "my sister's mad at me." Frowning, Finn asked, "wha'for?" Taking a deep breath, the pretty princess admitted, "if Breakfast doesn't get married and have a baby soon, she'll be passed over for the throne." Alarm bells were now going off in the hero's head, as he realized that he'd just walked into another sibling-rivalry thing. Slime Princess and Blargetha were still feuding five years after Finn ruined Blargetha's sneaky plan to take over the Slime Kingdom. He'd avoided getting caught up in the whole mess primarily because he was revolted by Slime-Princess's gooey body. Yuck! This was an entirely different mess because he'd already nearly railed BP, and Toast had suddenly matured into a shape that was just as beautiful.

"Uh, yeah," said Finn, faking a yawn. "I'm'a get some sleep now. I hope you and BP can work this out. You guys are two of my best buds! Hate t'see you guys fighting!" He quickly hustled the little princess back out the door, all but slamming it in her face. The last thing he wanted to do was bang some underage girl! He'd _deserve_ to have his nads cut off! And he already had enough complication in his life with Huntress and Simone. He didn't need anymore!

Three-hundred miles away, the evil adversaries Finn and his lovely partner had been chasing were sitting down to an urgent and much-needed meeting. They were in danger of being slaughtered, and they needed to pull together to get out of this mess and off this planet before they all got whacked! Of course it was _dangerous_ meeting like this. It made a big target for the people hunting them, but Imgwesh thought it was worth it. The body-snatcher wore a smile on his ugly face as he strode into the gathering.

The engineer immediately demanded, "what kept you?! We've been waiting for two days!" The body-snatcher replied, "doing some recon, Gorsh. Relax. They're nowhere near here. By the time they realize where we are, we'll be gone." "How do _you_ know," demanded the engineer. The little pipsqueak had never had much for courage, but this current situation had him ready to piss himself. Coolly Imgwesh replied, "because I've been tracking _them_." It was exactly the sort of crazy thing the body-snatcher did. "So where are they," asked the engineer?

With a shrug, Imgwesh replied, "in the border-town inhabited by those strange food-people–Breakfast-Kingdom, I belive it's called." They were hundreds of miles off. That went a long way towards calming the gathered mercenaries. "What else do you know," demanded Gorsh? Imgwesh snorted, "what? You think you're Martin? You think you can boss me around?" "I'm the way off this mudball," growled the little genius. "What I say goes!" Imgwesh laughed at him. The bigger alien replied, "if I do nothing, they'll have you eventually–long before you can complete your transmitter." And _he_ could always snatch a body that would let him blend in.

The little alien muttered curses as he realized that he would have to give up his power to someone else. Imgwesh was already moving on. "You're all going to lie low for a while," said the body-snatcher. "I have a plan to take care of our problem before it catches up." "What're you going to do," demanded Gorsh? "Ambush them," replied Imgwesh. They would never expect that. If he could steal one of their bodies, he could destroy the other one. They might even be able to infiltrate one of the kingdoms to get supplies and help.

The charismatic body-snatcher quickly had the others figuratively eating from his hand. Fear was the prime motivator. The mercs feared death more than being stranded. The malevolent entity quickly gained control of the gathering, pushing his diminutive rival aside. The aliens went hard at it, identifying just which kingdom they wanted to take and just how they would do it.

As his adversaries were wrapping up business, Finn was climbing the walls in impatient desire. He'd been waiting all evening behind a locked door, pretending to sleep and praying BP and Toast would leave him alone. Now, with the palace finally quiet, he was ready to try slipping down to his sort-of girlfriend's room. He'd wanted to be extra sure that nobody was awake to see him. Now he came creeping down the hallway, slipping from door to door, ears straining for any sound he could hear. As he neared the junction of two hallways, he spotted a light coming the other direction. A surge of fear hit him, and he found himself looking back and forth, up and down the hall for a place to hide. As the light got closer, his panic increased, and he ducked into the closest room, easing the door shut behind him.

Moments later, footsteps in the hallway announced Toast Princess. Finn peered out at her through a crack in the doorway, and what he saw gave him an instant hard-on. The little teenager was wearing a pair of silky panties like Huntress would wear under a lacy nighty in butter-yellow silk. Both items left little of her to the imagination. As he watched in horrified fascination, she went straight up to his door and knocked. No sooner had she done so, than a light from the _other_ end of the hallway approached. The little witch immediately scooted across the hall and ducked into a doorway.

As Finn peered through the crack in the doorway, Toast's big sister came from the other end of the hallway, and what she was wearing was even more shocking. The mad wench had come down dressed in a bikini made of nothing more than big strips of bacon, and she was carrying a big jug of maple syrup in one hand and a flashlight in the other. She'd suggested having him lick syrup up off her boobies when they'd made out that night five years back, and Finn had gotten hard as a rock at the thought. As Finn and Toast both watched from hiding, Breakfast Princess turned the knob carefully and then pushed on the door. Finn knew he'd locked it. He didn't want anyone discovering he wasn't there after all.

As he watched, BP hunted around in her abbreviated costume for a key. "Damn," she muttered. "Key's upstairs." As Finn watched, the breakfast treat went back up the hallway, bound for the stairs to her room. Toast came out of hiding then, and, to Finn's horror, produced a key. Before the nasty little bitch could open the door, the third sister came out of one of the rooms, asking, "Toast? What're you doing up?" "Uh... nothing," murmured Toast. "Why don't you go on back to bed?" "Breakfast promised to tell me a story," burbled the nine year old. "You're a little old for bed-time stories," replied Toast. "Am not," groused the kid! Toast shushed her. She clearly didn't want to get caught here in the hall. "Ok, ok," muttered the older princess. The minute she followed the kid into the bedroom, Finn scooted out of there.

This was getting crazy. Rushing down the hall to the stairs, he took them two at a time. Arriving at the palace's ground level, Finn hung out in the stairwell, listening carefully. When he was sure there was nobody there, he slipped out into the hall. In just a dozen steps he was at Huntress's door. Using the key the wood nymph wizard had given him, he opened the door and slipped inside. He wasn't sure what he would find on the other side, but he shut the door behind him and locked it.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he found himself staring into the wizard's green eyes. She was sitting up in bed, wearing his favorite purple nightie. Finn walked over to the side of the bed and sat down. In an irritated tone, the wood nymph asked, "what kept you, donk?" "Princesses," muttered Finn. Without another word, he pulled up the edge of the covers and slipped in beside her. They were both a little too tired for more than cuddling. Finn pulled the covers up over them, drew her into his arms and lay his head down.

The prickly wizard took a while to get settled, and he could sense some agitation there. His hands caressed her tense shoulders trying to calm her. He couldn't deny the attraction. It had been there from the moment he first saw her on his way to see Bonnie. Huntress was just as pretty as Simone, and he was scared right now. He was scared that he was starting to fall for her. Hard. On her side, Huntress found herself surprisingly sad. She was sad because she knew this moment was coming to an end. They'd be home tomorrow. It was so nice. The feel of him there beside her. This was what love felt like. She wanted to keep him forever.

But she knew he was going back to _her_.

Emeraude sighed heavily, and Finn could almost _hear_ the sadness. "What's wrong," he asked? He _knew_ what was wrong. This whole thing was wrong, but they were pretending. They were pretending that Finn wasn't a married man cheating on his wife. "You've never asked me what my name is," rumbled Huntress. She was lieing, of course. That wasn't what this was about at all. Blushing, Finn lay back on his back. Women could do that to him. Bonnie, Marcy, Phoebe, Simone. They'd all done that to him at one point in time or another. They'd ask some out-of-the-blue question or make some crazy comment that didn't make sense at all, and he'd just _stop_. Because Girl.

Cruelly, Emeraude asked, "did you call her Ice-Queen? How long did it take to get to 'Simone'?" She could _feel_ him flinch. He'd given her what she wanted, and, instead of being content, she wanted to bite. Emeraude well knew that he hadn't asked simply because it didn't matter. Huntress was what she wanted to be called, and he respected that. He didn't go violating her space–didn't try to weasel it out of people she knew like some of her old boyfriends had. He respected her space. Turning to face her again, he asked, "will you tell me your name, milady. Please. I'd... I'd like to know it." She left him waiting.

Finn sighed. "I'm sorry," said he. "I... I thought..." "It's Emeraude," she interrupted him. Finn stopped in mid-sentence. Choosing his words carefully–she could hear the gears turning ever so slowly–he said, "it's... pretty... I guess that's why you don't tell people." Rolling over, she stared at him. "Well," said he, "they wouldn't take you for you... They'd totes think you were some girly girl... Like Bonnie." Emeraude shushed him with her lips. Then, curling up against him, she lay her head against his chest and drifted off to sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

There was something off about the place. This whole situation felt _wrong_. They usually spent days tracking these jokers down wherever they'd managed to hole up. This time, the guy was right there out in the open, just living the life like he didn't give two shits. _He has to know that we're after him,_ thought Finn. They had bagged two larger gangs already, and they'd slagged a bunch of guys in singles and pairs. Word was getting around the wastelands that the dynamite duo was blasting and chopping every alien face they came across.

"What's wrong," asked his girlfriend? E rarely thought of anything beyond the end of her nose. She didn't spend a lot of time dwelling on the possibilities. She'd always been faster than anybody who wanted to throw down, and she figured that, with magic, she always would be. Finn was a little bit different. He knew he wasn't going to live forever. At least that was how he'd always felt. The strange croak-dream he'd had of getting hitched to a beautiful girl and living to get old and die had sort of fixed that in his mind. Huntress had been trying to change his mind on that subject. She wanted him to study wizardry. Then he could keep himself alive for a few centuries just like her.

Finn knew he was wavering. He'd be lieing if he said he didn't like the idea of being a badass for the next century or so like Rattleballs. On the flipside, he also liked the idea of kind of growing into things with Simone. More and more, he thought of her as the beautiful girl from his dream–the one he settled in with to grow old. It was complicated, and it was doing nothing to help him focus.

"It doesn't add up," muttered Finn. "He's not doing anything." He wasn't planning. He wasn't building a transmitter. He wasn't terrorizing the locals to build his own little kindgom. He was just _sitting_ here. Huntress rolled her eyes. "Boy, for a donk, who tells everybody what a dummy he is, you seem to do a lot of thinking," she rumbled. Shaking her head, she said, "it's entirely possible that he realizes he's screwed, Finn. Maybe he's giving up." Finn frowned, but he didn't argue it. Whatever the guy was doing, it was time to move in and bag him.

"I'll take the back entrance this time," said Huntress. Finn's frown deepened. Jabbing him in the chest with her finger, she said, "I'm tired of getting shot at. It's your turn, baby." Flushing, Finn nodded. She was right. It killed him when she was at risk. He usually took the back door because he was crippled at range, and these guys often came armed with those blaster-guns. Part of him wanted to learn magic just to counteract that. They just didn't have the time. They had the weapons they had. "Ok," said Finn. "But be careful." Standing on her toes, she kissed his lips.

Finn waited. He needed to give her time to get in position. Hanging out in a spot he hoped was out of sight, he did his best to peep the spot where their guy was. They were in one of the smaller ruins, and the place was mostly empty. There were a few mutants, but they tended to walk small, trying to avoid notice. Outside the confines of the town, there were large numbers of goo-bros, and they were not friendly. Fortunately, they had no interest in the truck. When they were done here, Finn had plans to take Huntress to Wizard City so she could collect some things of hers, though honestly he knew they were probably going to end up fucking in one of her old hideouts or something. His life was crazy, and he hadn't yet figured out how to say 'no' and mean it.

When the alarm on his watch went off, Finn drew the hood of his jacket up and set off, slipping from shadow to shadow. His job was to go in the front, making noise and kicking in doors. That was usually enough to scare the onesie-twosie guys into running out the back. After all, if a pack of ten didn't stop them, what was one or two? There was no door to kick today, and Finn went boldly striding down the hall, calling out to the occupant as he went. The mazelike hallways would have been confusing if not for the piece of string he'd tied up at the entry. Now, he unrolled that string as he went room by room and door by door, sword out and at the ready.

There were no other entrances, thankfully. He would have feared this guy sneaking out a side door and avoiding Huntress if not for that little fact. All he had to do now was shake him up enough that he would run off. To that end, Finn made sure to bang his sword up against little bits of this and that, and to kick cans and small rocks as often as he could.

Rounding a corner, glancing to his left, he came face to face with a hideous creature that looked like a bird and insect had somehow mated. He had giant, owl-eyes, set in a face covered in what looked like feathers or something, and he had heavy, bony pincers for a mouth. His body was long and lean, with bony plates under the skin, and he came half-dressed in the remnants of a space-suit like he'd been marooned twenty years and everything had just shredded on him. "Hello," growled the alien. Finn frowned, as he realized the creature's mouth hadn't moved at all. Then he realized, _that was in my head!_

_You're the one who's been killing us,_ said the alien. "Damn straight," replied Finn. "You fuckers shouldn't have come here." It was business, boy, but you've made it personal, retorted the creature. Finn stepped forward, saying, "you can surrender, or you can die." The creature emitted a sound like buzzing insect wings, and Finn realized he was laughing. Raising his sword, Finn said, "this sword lets me block anything you can shoot at me, so don't bother..."

Again the creature laughed, and then, suddenly images floated in Finn's mind. Bonnie. Marceline. Phoebe. Simone. Huntress. All the women who he'd loved over the course of his life. _Impressive,_ said the voice. _Very impressive._ Finn shook his head, trying to clear it of those images and that voice. Those images began to morph in his mind, twisting into all the sexual fantasies he'd ever had about the women he loved. It was like watching a video playing over and over. The fantasy about making out with Bonnie when they were both thirteen. His dirty thoughts about how things _could_ have gone on his couples-night trip to the movies with Marcy. All the ways he'd imagined being able to touch Phoebe. All those images flowed through his mind in a disjointed stream, mixed with his very real memories of making love to Simone and Huntress or Phoebe jerking him off.

_You'd like to do that to the pink one, wouldn't you,_ the voice observed. _We all wanted to do it to the pink princess._ Those images morphed into twisted images of Bonnie chained up to a bed, while he raped her. Finn shook his head, trying to clear it of those thoughts. The harder he tried, the more brutal and cruel those images became, morphing to Marceline, burning in the sun, or Phoebe doused and half-dead. _You need strength to have what you want, boy,_ said the voice. _I'll give you strength!_

"Get. Out. Of. My. _Head_," snarled Finn, as he bashed his skull into the wall. He kept bashing his head into the wall as the voice tried to soothe him. Finally, the pain drove that awful voice from his mind. As Finn opened his eyes once more, he found himself experiencing double-vision. There were_ two_ of the alien there before him, and both were wobbling there, looking much the worse for wear. Finn swung his sword hard as he could, slicing through _both_ images, splitting the monstrous creature asunder. Then he collapsed to his knees in pain and rage.

"Finn," called Huntress? Swallowing his anger and fighting through the cobwebs in his head, Finn climbed to his feet. "Finn," called the sorceress again? "Here," he replied. The wood nymph came in through the door, looking a little wobbly herself. "You ok," he asked? "I could ask you," croaked the wizard. His face was bloody. "He tried... to control... me," rumbled Finn, as awful images of Huntress being raped and tortured filtered through his mind. Those images made him angry all over again. Shaking off the ugly feeling and the terrible images in his mind, Finn snarled, "I killed him."

Huntress sheepishly admitted, "he got the jump on me. Used some kind of psychic blast on me." She was still admittedly a little loopy. "Can you walk," he asked? Nodding, she asked, "can you?" Finn nodded. Feeling a little stronger now, he took her by the arm and steered her for the door. He wanted out of this place. Emeraude was a little surprised by the forcefulness of his actions. It wasn't normally like her donk to manhandle her like that.

The hero led his companion to the entrance of the tunnel, where they stood a moment, getting their breath and their bearings. With cool air on his face, Finn started to get a little of his faculties back. Huntress was a little slower, and he made her have a seat, while she recovered. Leaning back against the wall, she laughed, "tell me again why we do this?" Finn grimaced. He was starting to wonder that himself. That could have gone terribly wrong. The alien could have hurt her.

Worse, what if it had succeeded in snatching his bod? He didn't even want to think of what it would have done to his friends. His eyes flicked to Huntress, who was staring up at him. He wanted to hold her. Reaching down, he levered the wood-nymph to her feet and drew her into his arms. The display of emotion surprised her. "I-I'm ok, Finn," murmured Emeraude as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Honest."

The two walked back through the maze of ruined buildings until at last they returned to the portion of the town that was still occupied. Neither spoke much. Emeraude kept stealing glances at her boyfriend, wondering what had gotten into him. On most days, he was stand-offish and distant. She was sure he loved her, but he rarely showed signs of how he truly felt.

Until now.

That made her feel... _giddy_. It was her dream come true. He loved her. She mattered to him. At the same time, it was daunting. Questions filled her mind. Where did they stand? What was going to happen? Would he go further than that? Did she have a chance now? She wasn't sure, and she wasn't sure she should push right now.

Finn led the way back to the wrecked building that served the town as a hotel, and the two slipped in through the back entrance to avoid the questions that would come from their battered appearance. Arriving in their room, Finn got the door shut, while Huntress went and checked for signs that anyone had been there while they were gone. They were becoming two peas in a pod–paranoid and a little edgy–but she was alright with that. It was helping to build the bond between them.

_Clear,_ signaled Huntress as she came out of the cramped back room. She was thinking of her reward now. There was always a reward when they bagged one of these losers. Finn grunted something semi-polite, as he moved across the room. Something strange was bothering him. Standing there studying him, she found herself a little worried about him. Crossing the room to get a little closer, she gave him a good looking over. If she didn't know better, she'd have sworn somebody had bashed her beau in the face a couple times. It hadn't looked like the alien really got that close, and Finn was completely unscathed otherwise.

"Here, donk," said she, handing him a rag. "Wipe your face." Finn wiped the blood from his face. He looked... _troubled_. Huntress sighed. It looked like they weren't going to make love tonight. "Something wrong," he asked her? Her face snapped around. There was something there in his eyes. Glancing away, Huntress admitted, "well, you don't seem like you're in the mood..." Finn frowned at her. They'd just killed somebody, and she wanted to _screw_?! "Is that all you think about," he demanded?!

Face hot, Emeraude gave it back to him, "you usually don't seem to mind!" They stared at each other, faces hot, and eyes narrowed in anger. The wood-nymph knew she really ought to back off. He was upset for some reason, and there was little point in piling on. If she wanted him, she needed to be like his wife. She needed to actually show she gave a damn instead of jumping on his back all the time. But it was hard when anger had become ingrained in her.

As she glanced away again, lovely face still curled in a frown, Finn decided that maybe he should give her just the medicine she was wanting. As she chafed her hands together to warm them in the chill air of the room, Finn grabbed her wrists and jerked her arms up over her head and held them there, forcing her to stand on her toes. Her mouth came open. What was he doing?! At the same time, a part of her was turned on by this. She'd known he was strong, but she'd had no idea.

With his free hand, he untied the front of her tunic and slowly began to open it, unlacing it down to her belly-button. Huntress sighed breathily. He was doing it. He was _taking_ her–just as she'd wanted. Her mind went back to her fantasy–of him smashing the barflies in Silent Jay's, and then fucking the shit out of her on the spot. Finn leaned down and sniffed her, and the wood-nymph shivered involuntarily as she felt his breath on her skin. He could smell the soft perfume she'd dabbed between her breasts.

Finn caught her left nip in his teeth and gave it a tug. Huntress wailed in shocked pleasure at that. Drawing back, he let his eyes feast on her creamy skin. He'd had her a dozen times already, but she never quite got tired of it. Tracing a finger around her belly-button, he sent a shiver through her body. "You're trembling," breathed Finn. Huntress glanced at him. There was something there in his eyes that scared her. There was a darkness there, like all the anger he'd built up over the years was there, threatening to spill over. Finn's finger traced lower, tugging at the waist of her pants and the leather belt that held those tight pants up around her hips.

Huntress closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath. She'd never known him to tease before. That teasing finger traced lower, stroking the outline of her sleek, sexy thigh, and then back up along the join of her thighs. Through clenched teeth, Huntress hissed out a breath, and her face thrashed back and forth. Meanwhile, Finn's finger traced even lower. She could feel his finger as it slowly grew closer and closer to her opening. What had happened between yesterday and today? When had he become such a cruel bastard?!

Reaching up, he cupped her left booby and asked, "do you always cum when guys play with these. Huntress moaned softly. They were sensitive. They always had been. He teased her a little, sending jolts of lust up her spine. Finally, she admitted, "y-yessss..." Then, "stop teasing, dammit!" Finn chuckled drily, and his tone told her that this wasn't going to end soon. Now he reached down and began rubbing his finger around her opening again, teasing her. He could smell... _something_. There was an earthy scent clinging to her now. When he raised his finger to his nose, he realized what it was. She was getting creamy.

Finn lowered her down onto her feet again, and she thought he would finally do it to her. Instead, he jerked the tunic down off her shoulders, binding her arms behind her back. That was when she realized she was in trouble. Before she could even react, he had her spun around and pinned against the wall, and she felt more than saw her bracer come off. He'd just disarmed her! He'd taken her Instrument!

Finn went further. Unwrapping the mask from her eyes, he replaced it with the rag, blindfolding her. What was he doing?! A little panicked now, the wood-nymph began to struggle. Finn spun her around and pushed her up against the wall. She felt his hand on her middle and realized he'd unfastened her belt. And then she felt cool air against her skin as he opened her pants too. Huntress's face went hot as she realized he had to see the damp spot in her panties.

"Do you like it when I fuck you bow-legged," asked Finn? "You must like it. You keep coming back for more..." He had his finger on her button. Huntress bit her lip and gasped out a breath. "Do you like it," he asked her? Turning away, the wizard nodded, once. She felt... _ashamed_. But she was so turned on. This cruel teasing was turning her on. Finn jerked the crotch of her panties aside, then shoved his finger into her. "Wwaagggh," squealed Huntress, and her back arched, and her body shook. Gasping for breath, she pleaded, "let me go..." "Don't you want me to fuck you," he whispered? "That's what you want, right? Me to stick it in you and make you scream?" As he spoke, he cruelly worked that finger in and out of her. Huntress gasped out, "y-yeessss..."

Finn unfastened his pants and let the fat length of his rod fall out and slap into her belly. Huntress whimpered, as she remembered the look in his eyes. Something had happened to him! The look in his eyes said that this was going to hurt. A lot. As if to emphasize that, Finn stuffed her own mask in her mouth, gagging her. Grabbing her by her hips, the nasty younger man hoisted her into the air and shoved her up against the wall. Leaning into her, he crushed her body between his hard, muscular frame and the wall. She could feel his knob at her opening. Biting her lip and closing her eyes, she waited on the inevitable.

Emeraude screamed into the gag as Finn slammed his rod into her. Hefting her like a toy, he raised and lowered her hot little body on his fat log, railing the shit out of her. Huntress thrashed and screamed and squealed. She was loud enough with a mouthful of cloth that he knew she'd have been heard down the street if he hadn't gagged her first. Finn slurped her sensitive right booby into his mouth and tried to practically swallow the whole thing. Back arching, screaming like a banshee, Huntress had a climax that left her seeing stars.

His hands squeezed her hard little buns like bread-dough, leaving dark marks on her flesh as he pulled her on and off his fat dong. She would have bruises on her butt and inner thighs when he got done with her. "Like it, little girl," he asked? Huntress squealed by way of answer. He stopped with his rod buried to the hilt inside her and put his lips to her ear. "I know you like it," he whispered. "I can feel it. Her face burned, and he could hear her cussing him or trying to. "Want me to do this to you all the time," he asked? Emeraude lay her head in the crook of his neck. Why was he doing this?

And why did she like it so much?

Finn began to bang her again, sliding out and slamming his fat pecker back in. His girl squealed and thrashed against him. The harder he fucked her, the harder she came. He all but tortured her sensitive little boobies, going from one to the other, biting and chewing at them, making her scream. Slipping a hand between them, he pinched her button, making her shriek. Hot syrup flooded out of her, soaking his pants. She always left him sticky. Sucking at her neck and biting her tender flesh, he gave her an ugly black splotch. "Ooaaaaaah," howled the wood nymph as another blinding climax shook her.

Huntress lay slack against him, whimpering. One arm around her slim waist, Finn stroked her soft hair and whispered, "shhh... Shh... It's ok, baby. I'm gonna' take good care of you." Now the cruel young man really began to pound her hot little body. She shook and thrashed enough that the blindfold came loose, letting her see the look in his eyes–a look that terrified her. The nasty boy ran his tongue along her cheek, and he pressed the tip of his finger against her butt. Her eyes pleaded with him, but he shoved that finger into her anyway. Shaking and shuddering spastically, the wood nymph screamed herself hoarse. Finn shot his stuff into her belly, feeling the most satisfying climax of his short life.

He drew back, letting her down on her feet again. Huntress almost fell on her face. Leaning back against the wall, she gasped for breath, glaring at him. Finn calmly slipped his pecker back in his pants and zipped up. Then he reached out to help her. She flinched away from him, but Finn gathered her in and pulled her top back up onto her shoulders. Stepping back, he picked the bracer up and handed to her.

Glaring at him, Emeraude snatched the bracer from his hand and slipped it back on. Then she slapped him. Finn laughed at her. Grabbing her by her hair, he jerked her towards him and crushed her lips with his. The wizard _melted_. Blushing, she glanced down at his feet. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he drew her in against him, and she lay her head against his chest. He could feel her breathing softly. Finn grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her towards the bedroom. It was going to be a long night.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

The feel of the gritty sheets beneath them was the first thing Finn noticed. The next was the pounding headache he had. "Oooh," groaned the hero, as he sat up. Glancing to his left, he found E curled up against him. He vaguely remembered her being hurt last night, and he found himself easing the covers down to look at her. That act woke _her_. Her eyes popped open, and she looked up at him with a trace of fear in her eyes.

Finn had been more than a little rough with her last night. At the same time she was turned on, a part of her had been a little frightened by it. Now, in the clear light of day, she wondered if he was alright. "Hey, babe," said Finn. "You alright?" Huntress sat up, brushing back her hair as she did so. "I-I guess so," she mumbled. Swinging his legs out of the bed, Finn said, "we should get moving." Just like he hadn't half-raped her last night. She wasn't sure what to make of this, but she knew he was right. They couldn't stay. They had another lead to follow.

Climbing out of bed, Huntress staggered across to where she'd left the bag with her fresh clothes. That was when he saw the bruises and scratches. She was covered in them. "Uh... what happened to you," he asked? Huntress glared at him over her shoulder, "_you_ happened..." Finn frowned back. "_Me_," he asked? Now she turned and stared at him. "Y-you _hurt_ me last night," rumbled the wizard. His jaw came unhinged. "I did, _what_," he asked? "You don't remember," she murmured? Climbing out of bed, Finn came over and got down on one knee. He started looking her over, finding all sorts of scratches and marks on her–including teeth marks. His face went very pale as he took in the sight of the rope burns on her wrists and ankles.

"Last thing I remember," murmured Finn, "I was mad at you for something... We... shouted... and then..." She caught his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. The strange _darkness_ she remembered was gone. "It got inside you," murmured the wizard. "You said he tried to control you..." Finn felt a shiver of fear. "C'mon," said Huntress. "We need to get you to Wizard City. We need to have you looked at." He was more concerned about her. She was a mess. Pulling her into his arms, he asked, "did I... Did I hurt you badly?" "I'll be ok, Finn," she said. "Let's... Let's go."

Walking out of the ruined town, Finn was in a state of terror as he took in just how much damage he'd done to Huntress. She was limping, and every inch of skin he could see had a bite mark or bruise. Settling his hands on her shoulders, Finn said, "I'm sorry, E... I'm sorry for what I did to you..." Huntress chuckled, "I dunno, hero. Maybe I saw the _real_ you."

Finn blushed to his hair. He was still blushing when she glanced over her shoulder. Huntress said, "you fulfilled a fantasy for me, Finn." Finn frowned at her. Turning around, she said, "I... used to think about what it would be like to lose control... to be... at someone's mercy." Grinning, she said, "I know it's kinky, but... well... It is what it is. I used to think about it a lot. Now... I know what it would be like." Looking him in the eye, she said, "and you wouldn't have ever hurt me. Not really." Finn slipped his arms around her and held her.

They stood that way a while, with Emeraude savoring the contact. It had taken an act of supreme evil to force Finn to admit he loved her, but at least they'd come that far. Now they needed to move. His life was on the line, to say nothing of the milling goo-bros. Breaking that embrace, the wizard took his hand and led the way to their ride. They had a lot of driving ahead of them.

The trip to Wizard City took the better part of a day, and the sun was headed for the horizon when they pulled up to the entry. "C'mon, donk," rumbled Huntress. "There's an old friend of mine who practices medicine here." With Bonnie's diplomatic pass, the duo were able to enter the city without any trouble at all, though the wizard police did glare at both of them. They weren't very popular around these parts due to Finn's habit of holding the Grand Master's feet to the fire. The mood in the place was drastically improved since the threat from the aliens had been, more or less, ended. There was still a lot of the typical crazy wiz-biz going on, but the feel of desperation was gone.

Finn found himself studying the place with an interest he hadn't had before. This was her home. This was the world she'd been accustomed to living in. There were moments he could see the chaos in her. She wasn't shy about raising hell when she felt like it. At the same time, he couldn't really see her as fitting in here. She was driven and focused, and she didn't really have a lot of time for fools. "What're you thinking about, donk," growled the wizard? She was hiding her fear with rudeness.

"Thinking that you don't really fit in with this place," murmured Finn. "You're much too smart and focused for these guys." The way he said it–so calm and matter-of-fact–told her that he wasn't trying to flatter her. He was just giving his honest opinion. It was the strangest kind of compliment she'd ever gotten. It wasn't about her butt or her boobies or even her face and eyes. She was smart and focused. Those words did things to her. "E," he said. "Yeah, donk," she murmured? "If I... If I lose control of this," said he, "don't let me go home." Her head whipped around, as she registered what he was telling her. "Don't be a sissy," muttered the wood-nymph, as she stopped him in the street next to a strange pillar of stone that was pierced with windows up near its peak. They had arrived.

Reaching out, the wizard put her palm against a protrusion in the stone and whispered a command word. A face formed out of the heavy granite. Long and lupine, it squinted at them. "Huntress," rumbled the wolf. "Long time no see..." "Need your help, Wolf," replied the wizard. The wolf gave her his trademark whistle, saying, "you know I'd help you anytime, sweet-thang." "Ok," said the wizard. "Open the door." Laughing, the other magician said, "you know the rules, H. Leave the bracer and the arrows in the bin. You can get them on your way out." With a heavy sigh, the wizard did just that. Finn tried to argue with her, but she shushed him.

Minutes later, they walked through a strange doorway of kaleidoscopic color, and into a well-appointed waiting-room set with couches and tables and the latest magazines. "This looks like a...," started Finn. "Doorlord's sanctum," interrupted Huntress? "Yeah. Wolf killed one and took his spot." Finn grimaced. The man himself came out of the back room. He was a dapper fellow, dressed in stereotypical wizard-robes, with a body covered in a heavy layer of coarse brown fur. His squinty eyes peered at them through a pair of thick-lensed glasses, and his expression suggested that he was a threat to Finn's companion.

The way the wolf looked at Emeraude was like the way the mutants looked at her. She was a piece of meat to him–something for him to rail and discard when he got bored of her. Finn didn't like him in the least. Seeing that look of jealous suspicion in his eyes made her feel good. He valued her. He was willing to _fight_ for her. It was progress. "C'mon, donk," rumbled the wizard. "Time to go to the exam room."

The wizard led the way into the back room, and Finn found himself in a laboratory. It was like some old movie-set with bubbling cauldrons and smoking flasks, and strange chemicals in strange hues floating through one tube to the next. "So," said Wolf. "What appears to be the problem." "Think he's got an attachment," said Huntress. "Hmm," said Wolf. "Let me be the judge." He shooed her to the bench in the corner, while he steered the norm to his exam table.

Finn lay down on the stone surface, and the wizard said, "now relax, my friend. Let old Wolfie get to the bottom of this." Finn did his best, but he was uneasy with this guy. This Wolf seemed to have a past with his girl, and that made Finn suspicious of him. The wizard probed him, laying on spells, and even his hands at one point in time or another. The strange examination went on for the better part of an hour while an anxious Huntress fidgeted in the corner. Finally the wiz-doctor finished, saying, "hey, buddy, whyn't you wait outside." A nervous Finn glanced to Huntress, who said, "go on, donk. I'll be right out."

When Finn had gone into the next room, Huntress shut the door. "Lay it on me," she said. The doctor replied, "something's in there. It's... I'm not sure if it's a part or a whole..." Huntress frowned at him. Even frowning, she was beautiful. "What does that mean," she asked? With a casual shrug, Dr. Wolf replied, "it'll overwrite his higher brain functions in a week..." Huntress's jaw dropped. Flippantly, the doctor said, "it's already taken over some of his sex-drive, unleashing some of the kinky. Feel bad for whoever he's currently boning. He's probably into bondage now, but by Friday, it'll be sick stuff like knives and shit..." The wolf laughed. He actually _laughed_!

A horrified Huntress demanded, "can it be removed?!" Wolfie chuckled, "maybe..." "I need you working on it," she growled. Her old flame asked, "what's it worth?" Her eyes narrowed, and he boldly asked, "c'mon Huntress... It's obvious you need that stiff f'er _something_..." He rested a hand on her arm, announcing, "a little dinner... a little dancing... And maybe whatever comes after..." Grabbing his hand and bending it backwards, she growled, "I'll give you a gift, Wolf. I'll let you _live_!" As he dropped to his knees with a hiss of pain, she drew a spell-arrow from a fold in her cloak and put it against his temple. "You remember these," rumbled Huntress? "Of course you do..."

Each of those arrows had the power to flatten a stone wall. If she lit that arrow off, it would be a closed-casket funeral. Wolf yelped in fear. He should have known! "We broke up, Wolf," growled the mercenary. "You went your way. I went mine. Let's just keep it that way." Emphatically he nodded. "It's simple," said Huntress, "you fix my donk, I don't waste you. Easy-peasy..." He nodded his understanding of the terms. Just then, Bonnie's pendant chimed for her attention. Stepping back, she drew the pendant out of her shirt and clicked it open, announcing, "yeah?"

Bonnie didn't waste a moment. "Aliens sighted in Wizard City," said the Princess. "I need you to go there and investigate. How long do you think it'll take?" With a shrug, the wood-nymph retorted, "five minutes." With no further word, she hung up on Bonnie and headed out. Over her shoulder, she said, "watch him. If anything happens, your life won't be worth spit." As she passed Finn in the outer office, she said, "Bonnie called. I gotta go out and look around." Finn immediately rose to follow, but the wizard admonished him to stay put, explaining, "it's gonna' be ok, Finn. Wolf's working up a cure."

The hunter took to the streets with her mind in a state of turmoil. He was in danger. The man she was so desperate for was in danger, and her only hope to save him lay in an ally who'd been untrustworthy back when they were dating. _Could this be any more of a disaster, _thought the wizard. She was so _close_. He loved her. He'd shown how much he loved her. Now just when they were getting somewhere, she stood to lose him. Shaking her head and muttering curses, the wood-nymph headed down to her favorite informant's place.

Meanwhile, upstairs things were going from bad to worse as an exhausted Finn lay his head back and drifted off. An irritated Wolf bustled around his lab, working on the cure for the stiff's possession problem as he muttered curses under his breath. The witch-doctor had been expecting payment in pussy for services rendered. Now he'd be lucky to get paid at all. Huntress could be incredibly violent when she felt like somebody was hassling her, and he'd made a big mistake pushing her when he didn't know what was going on. He'd been thinking with his balls–remembering what a good lay she was. Now instead of wanting to bang her he just wanted her gone.

As he worked, his 'patient' watched him through half-lidded eyes. It had taken a while to get this far. The boy was just as resistant as his father, requiring Imgwesh to be patient. Now, the body snatcher carefully tested his limits, moving this and testing that. As the strange creature headed for the back room once more, the body-snatcher slipped out to the door. It was time for some mayhem.

Taking the twists and turns as one who'd been here, the body-snatcher walked swiftly across the city to the rendezvous with his accomplices. They had been here more than a week already, hiding out and waiting, but Imgwesh preferred to move slowly with these things. His caution had been born out when the marks changed things up on him. The original plan had been to capture the female. She was known in this place, and she had the face and capabilities that would let them execute the plan. He'd reckoned without the wizard's resistance to his powers.

Imgwesh had intended to kill the male after having a little fun with him. Now, just as they'd changed things up on him, the alien was having to change things up with his plan. It didn't really matter. If anything, he was astonished to see just how cold and heartless the female actually was. It was the exact opposite of what he was expecting–especially from the offspring of a creature like _Martin_. The boy was kind to a fault. There was anger in him. Just like with any male creature, there was anger and the potential for catastrophic violence. At the same time, he was soft. He was chained by his emotional attachments to the females in his life. That would give the alien body-snatcher endless hours of entertainment as he made the boy watch all those he cared for _suffer_. _Just wait, boy,_ whispered the alien. _I'll leave your snow-queen alone until I'm done with the others._

In the now, there was other pleasure to be had. This was intended to be a bit of a night of the long knives. They were going to slaughter the leadership of this city and replace its ruler. And the fact that a lot of innocents were going to die in horrible ways sort of added to the fun. The only problem was that he only had six men to work with. They would have to be careful, work swiftly, and overwhelm the strange guardians of the city. Fortunately, his host seemed to be well-known to those self-same enforcers, making it easy to manipulate them.

Huntress walked into Sloan's bar to find her quarry sitting at his usual spot in the back corner, staring out at the world. He was finishing up with another customer when she came through the door, and that kept him from trying to bolt. As Huntress approached, her informant slipped the customer a small packet. As soon as he had it hidden in his robes, the other wizard bolted from the bar in fear, whether of Huntress or something else, she couldn't have said.

Solly was much as she remembered him–an ugly, pumpkin-colored face with jaggedy teeth set atop a scrawny body. He wore dull red wizard-robes decorated with astrological symbols–and underneath, he carried an array of wands with deadly spells burned into them. He was a nasty customer but not nearly as nasty as she was, and they both knew it. His yellow eyes burned into hers as she sat down before him, back to the bar. He liked that. He liked the advantage. He had a henchman that stood ready and willing to come in behind potential problems. Fortunately, Huntress had already disposed of the henchman, leaving him unconscious in the street.

"Sol," Huntress greeted him. "You owe me," retorted the informant. Huntress threw a bag of coin on the table. "That covers what I owe," growled the wizard. Her eyes were full of menace. She was a girl, so she was already physically weaker than most of her potential opponents. She didn't play games, and she didn't bluff. She would just fucking kill you and walk away. Most people in the town knew better than to cross her. "What do you need," growled the infomerchant?

The wizard threw another bag of coins on the table and asked, "what do you know about strangers in town, masquerading as wizards?" Pumpkin-puss's eyes narrowed, and she knew he'd seen _something_. It was just a question of how much she had to pay–and how far he dared push her. The wood-nymph wizard leaned forward, and the dickering began.

The infomerchant dicked her around for the better part of half an hour, doing his best to overcharge her. He knew what she was up to, and he knew who she worked for. He expected her to go fetch cash from Bonnibel Bubblegum or the Grand Master–and preferably from both. He wanted to be in the very famous and very important Princess Bubblegum's pocket. He wanted the Grand Master to owe him a big favor.

The warrior-wizard demurred. She had no intention of begging anybody for cash or favors. And besides, why would she trade her own influence over her employer for this guy? At the end of the day, she threw down the gauntlet, telling him in no uncertain terms that he was going to get the bag on the table, or he was going to get dead. Drawing a spell-arrow, she lay it on the table, leaving it for Solly to decide which he wanted.

Solly signaled for his minion, tapping the bead on his bracelet. Huntress sat back in her chair and began counting. "One," growled the wizard. Solly tapped like mad on the bracelet. "Two," growled the wizard, as the arrow levitated itself off the table. Solly stared past her at the door. "He's tied up in the alley," rumbled the witch, "three, by the way." The infomerchant stared around him, but the other patrons of the bar were either ignoring what was going on or backing away from the confrontation. "Zerkon alley," howled Solly! "They hang out in Zerkon alley!" Without another word, Huntress slipped the arrow back into her quiver and walked away. Zerkon alley was on the far side of town, and she had a walk ahead of her.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

It was late when Wolf discovered that his patient was missing, and even later when the witch-doctor decided that he had better come clean with his client. He'd spent the better part of an hour hunting for the norm–really soul-searching and trying to figure out if he should just skip town. Now, under threat of death, he found himself trying to explain to Huntress what had happened.

"He went out," rumbled the doctor. "It's... I-it should have been impossible..." "Not for an alien," growled the warrior-wizard! "Just when were you going to fucking tell me, Wolf?" "I-I tried to find him," replied Wolfie! "Honest! I searched everywhere." Huntress thought about that a moment. Some things weren't adding up. There were no places a norm was supposed to be able to go in Wizard City without escort. Finn shouldn't have been able to go to a public toilet without getting rousted by the police! He had diplomatic immunity–so far as that went–but he was absolutely not allowed to roam the streets.

_This was planned,_ thought the wood-nymph. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Finn had been absolutely right all along. The alien had been laying in wait. He didn't behave like any of the others. He'd been laying for them–waiting to jump them when they came to grab his ass.

_And we fell for it,_ thought the wizard. _She_ had fallen for it. Finn had warned her that there might be a trap, but she'd fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. More to the point, the creature had tried to take her out first. It wasn't a coincidence that they had run into him not far from Wizard City. He'd wanted to come here. This had been his plan all along. _So why here,_ thought the wizard?

The answer came as a bit of a shock to her. The alien had wanted to use her for something. He'd gone for her first so he could use her. He was planning something terrible for Wizard City, and he'd needed a known wizard to do it. Now as she drew the conclusions, it all made sense. He hadn't wanted Finn at all. He'd wanted _her_. The only question was, what would she do now? The creature was out there still, and it had Finn's face.

"I got the remedy ready," said the witch-doctor. "What good does that do me now," growled the mercenary?! "H-he's still in there," said Wolfie! Huntress raised her hand, ready to kill him out of hand, and he repeated that statement, voice going up an octave out of the terror that he felt. "It had to wait, H," said Wolfie! "When I saw him, he was passed out asleep! It had to wait for him to fall asleep! He's still in there! You can still save him!"

Huntress lowered her palm, as she thought about that. Taking her hand in his, Wolfie pressed the gadget into her palm, saying, "you just got to get that pressed against his skull. It'll suck the entity out of him." Which was easier said than done. Still, if there was a hope, was there any doubt that she'd be trying to save her man? Folding the little device up in her hand, Huntress deposited it in one of her belt-pouches. Then, reaching into her tunic, she got out a small bag full of gold coins and tossed them to him. "Congratulations," said the wizard. "You get to live." Without a further word, she turned and stormed out.

It didn't take long for the wizard to locate her missing boyfriend. She heard, more than saw one of the wizard police go dashing by. Knowing that a running cop meant trouble, Huntress gave chase. As she followed him through the chaotic streets of her home town, she could hear him communicating with his fellows. They had a problem. There was a problem down on the market square, and more units were needed to deal with it.

Huntress knew the quality of the men who policed her brethren. They were cruel, ruthless creatures, and they reveled in the power to sanction someone–_anyone_–for a day or an eternity. Most wizards knew better than to push them too far. If they were having trouble with somebody, it was an outsider. Trouble with an outsider meant Finn. Anyone else would have become a magic stick by now.

She found the wizards on the square, hunting high and low for the man who'd overpowered three of their number. They were scared. She could hear it in their voices. Who the hell was this guy? How did he have the power to turn aside their weapons like that? _Finn alright,_ thought the wizard. A glance out at the square revealed three wiz-cops down, and the rest scanning the scene in confusion. Was he still nearby? The alien had control of him. What was its goal? It hadn't managed to grab the right body, but it had _someone_. _Think, Emeraude,_ she admonished herself. What would she do if she were in the alien's shoes?

_The Grand Master,_ thought the wizard. The alien had knocked down three cops after they called for backup. Anything that could knock down three wiz-cops would get the force's full attention. That meant drawing cops from across the city. Draw enough of them, and they'd have to sortie the palace guards. Finn wasn't most norms. He had friends in high places, and he was known to the Grand Master. If the alien could bluff its way past somebody, he could snatch the Grand Master's body. Huntress had been prepared, or it might have snatched _her_. The Grand Master, preoccupied with his hobbies and his cats, could be an easy mark.

Turning away from the scene, the wizard ran off into the night. She had to intercept the alien before he reached the palace. If she could knock him out–take him prisoner–she could get Wolf's gadget on his head and drag the entity out of Finn's body. If, if, if, if, if. There were too many ifs, but what choice did she have?

The wizard ran as fast as she dared. It wasn't good to draw attention from the cops by running in their presence. With them stirred up, she might be taken for the instigator–and she _did_ have a history with them. As she rushed across the city, she began to see that the alien's plan was going all too well. In point of fact, there were deeper, darker depths to the plan. A couple of corpses with holes burned through their middles showed that the alien maybe had friends here. He didn't have a lot, but it was enough to create chaos and drag more cops from their patrols.

_So how many will he keep at the attack on the palace,_ wondered Emeraude? If he wanted to have his best chance, he would take a handful of soldiers with him. Then he only had to get the door open. If he wanted to exploit Finn's presence, he'd leave his men in the city where they could continue to raise hell and attract the guards. _So which is it,_ thought the wizard? The more men at the palace, the harder her job became. That increased the risk to Finn.

_Does it matter,_ wondered the wood-nymph? _He's never going to be yours. He's never going to quit her._ Part of her thought it was better for him to die. Then neither could have him. It was selfish to the point of being evil, but that was what she felt some moments when he was looking at pictures of _her_ and that fucking kid. Others, she thought of maybe faking an attack by the aliens. They'd picked up more than a few of their weapons. She could literally burn down his whole house and make it look like somebody else. Then she could swoop in and save him from his sorrow.

_Focus, Emeraude,_ she told her self. _Focus._ There was little point in fantasizing about murder when she still had to save the man himself. She felt guilty. She felt like a fucking idiot. He hadn't wanted to rush into that, but she'd pushed. It hadn't mattered before. Now she saw what he had already seen. She now had all sorts of reasons to be more careful, and it was time she grew up. Ironically, that thought gave her the answer.

_He'll go alone,_ thought the wizard. The alien had nothing to lose. He didn't even stand to lose himself. If he got Finn killed, he could just snatch somebody else's bod and be right back in business. That was the confidence that let him just sit there waiting for them. At the end of the day, he had no attachment to the lives he destroyed. So he'd walk into the Grand Master's palace badass and bold as brass and just take his chances. With that thought set in her mind, the wizard took off. She still had to be careful, but now she had some idea where to go.

Imgwesh listened to the sounds of his minions on the communicator as they called out to each other. Everything was going to plan. The boys hadn't liked his plan at all. It put a lot of the risk on _them_. They had to go out and pick fights with the strange defenders of this place, and they'd already seen what happened when the locals crossed these creatures. Imgwesh had prevailed. Now the plan was bearing fruit. There were over a dozen fires spread across this strange city. There were dozens of dead, and many of those were enforcers. His men had raised slaughter, and now the enforcers were dancing to _his_ tune.

The boy was becoming more and more shrill now. His pain was palpable. As every new report came in, he became more and more agitated. He had thrice now fought to take control of his body back. Imgwesh had beaten him back handily. He knew the pain points to apply. He would dredge up the boy's terror of the water. He would bring out the unpleasant memories of the hateful words Joshua had spoken about the boy, calling him weak and a child. The alien reminded Martin's son of all the times that his precious princess had insulted him and pushed him away–especially the times she'd called him a child. And then, if the boy still persisted, he'd get socked with images of the talking pastry banging _his_ woman. The boy was impotent just now. He would have to sit and watch Imgwesh as he completed his plan. There were just two enforcers in the way now.

The last two wiz-police had just left when Huntress rushed onto the scene. Finn was at the top of the stairs, knocking on the door and arguing with someone inside. If the Grand Master was as stupid as he usually was, it was probably him on the far side of the door. He was almost in reach of the alien. Stepping out, the wizard readied her defenses against possession and got ready for the fight of her life. Finn was fast. He was hellaciously fast. She'd never seen a norm that moved like he did.

On top of that, he had that fucking sword. The sword could stop her lightning. That left her with just her spell-arrows, and that would kill him. She had to shut that down somehow. It gave him a reach-advantage close in. And then she still had to get the device against his skull and keep it there. _Think fast, Emeraude,_ the wizard admonished herself. The door was opening.

Imgwesh was just about to reach out and touch the fool on the far side of the door, when a blast of lightning struck the stone wall. A blast of thunder made his host's ears ring and sent him flying ass-over-elbows back down the stairs. The door got pulled shut by an invisible force as a dazzling globe of light came shooting across the square and straight up to his face.

"You're going to let go of my boyfriend," growled the female, as she approached. "Ah," retorted the alien. "You must really have liked what I gave you, little bitch." Blushing, Huntress growled, "I'm warning you..." Imgwesh folded the boy's legs up, then leapt back to his feet, drawing that sword as he did so. With a predatory smile, he said, "make me let go of him." And then he started across the square, making the tip of that sword dance hypnotically. It was such a crude weapon, but the effects were undeniable. The feel–even the _sound_–of that blade slicing flesh made the alien giddy.

As expected, the wizard backpedaled. She wasn't ready to kill her 'boyfriend' just yet. Imgwesh turned up the heat. "I was after _you_, you know," said he. She knew. "I was going to do such entertaining things to the boy," the creature told her, "with your hands..." "Fuck you," growled Huntress. Slashing at her, the alien laughingly retorted, "no. Fuck _you_." The boy rebelled against him, and he filled his mind with the image of that oh-so-sharp sword driving straight up the little bitch's private place–in place of the boy's organ. As the boy reeled, the alien began stabbing and slashing at Huntress.

_Closer,_ thought the wizard. _Bring it in closer._ She didn't have a spell for this. Everything she had was aimed at instant incapacitation or death. The only difference was the scale. Many or just one. Slowly she reeled her opponent in, getting him to expend strength trying to smash her. "Hold still, you little bitch," growled the irritated alien! Finally she stopped at just the right spot.

Huntress turned the blade with her bracer, and then executed a chop-block on his wrist just below the heel of his hand. The Finn-sword came free, and the wizard kicked it away. Then she went on the offensive, kicking and punching her beau, driving him back away from the blade. "Clever," growled Imgwesh. Huntress knew she was being baited. She had no time for listening. This was still a fight for Finn's life.

The alien let her kick and punch, countering that rain of blows with speed, skill, and strength. The boy was far stronger. He'd _let_ her win their little contest in the forest. Now, as she over-extended herself, Imgwesh caught her arm and threw her. The wood-nymph landed heavily, and, as she tried to gather her wits, the alien pounced.

Wrapping a powerful hand around her throat, Imgwesh pinned her. Snatching out Finn's trusty dagger, he told her, "I was going to kill you second to last, cunt. I wanted to make him _howl_ for the trouble he put me through." As the wizard gasped for air, the evil alien listed a litany of barbarities that he'd intended to inflict on her. For every tender way Finn had ever touched her, this sick bastard had a horror in mind.

As he recited that list of evil, Huntress struggled to keep the knife at bay while she tried to pry those fingers off her throat. Finn's hot breath on her face–and the oodles of CO2 in it–was all that kept her going. Still, she hadn't a hope of getting Finn off her–not without hurting him. He was just too strong. With the creature in possession of his body, he was probably stronger. She really had only two choices to escape this situation.

Letting go the hand that was choking her, she reached for the fold in her cloak that held her holdout weapon. She had the spell-arrow in hand, ready to kill, when a singular thought stopped her. What if she killed him? What then? What would life be like without the one thing she couldn't do without? She had been searching for this one thing–this one _person_–all her life. Now that she had it, could she really just throw it away? The knife inched closer to her left breast. She could feel the pressure on her flesh through the leather of her tunic. Truth was, she didn't want to know. She didn't really want to live without Finn to find out just what that was like. As the knife began to dig into the leather–as her grip on his wrist began to falter, Emeraude lay the spell-arrow down and closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

She waited.

The pressure of the knife against her breast was such that she couldn't understand why she was still breathing. Why was she still able to breath? She could _feel_ it. The hard edge of the knife digging into her breast with every breath she took. Why wasn't she screaming? Why wasn't she choking on her own blood?

A sudden scream rang out, startling her. The pressure was gone. When she opened her eyes, Finn was no longer kneeling over her, trying to butcher her. He was staggering around screaming at himself and pulling on his hair. "You're not doing that t'my girl," he shouted! "You're not doin' that, you fucker!" Huntress rose, her face a study in shock. Finn was grappling with himself now, holding the hand that held the knife as that knife worked its way steadily towards his chest. It would have been comical if it wasn't deadly serious. _Now or never, Emeraude,_ she told herself.

Conjuring a small charge, she knocked the knife from his hand, sending it clattering across the paving stones. Then she was on him, pressing Wolf's gadget to his head. The shock of it making contact made her boyfriend scream. She knew the wizard police would be here soon. Even without all the hell the aliens had raised, a battle outside the Grand Master's palace was going to attract all kinds of negative attention. When you added a screaming mundane to the mix, it was a wonder they weren't swamped already. _Hope some are still alive,_ thought the wizard. The city would be defenseless if the other aliens were still around.

"Finn," she breathed. "Fight with me..." Wrapping her arms around him and holding his struggling form close to her, she whispered a charm in his ear. Over and over she whispered those words. Time seemed to stand still, while Wolf's curative worked its magic, drawing the evil entity out of Finn's mind. Finally, she saw sanity return to his blue-blue eyes. Tears began to fall as he realized what had almost happened to her. "We need to scoot, baby," she whispered. "You can kiss me later."

The twosome ran like hell, dodging Wizard City's cold-hearted enforcers on their mad dash to freedom. They had been surprised, dazed, and confused in the face of the aliens and their firepower. In the end though, there were only six aliens and hundreds of wizard-police. The wiz-cops had gotten the upper hand, turning two of the aliens into magic sticks before the others fled screaming into the night. With that done, the cops turned their attention to the frantic calls for help from the Grand Master's palace. The arrived just as the two perpetrators fled and immediately gave chase.

Huntress knew that they weren't going to get any traction with Wizard-City's Po-Po. They weren't known for being friendly on the best days. Tonight, she and Finn had fought a duel on the Grand Master's doorstep, and there was no telling whether or not the nasty old cuss had seen or heard the fuss. When you added in the fact that several of them were dead, and they were still fighting fires throughout the city, the wood nymph wizard thought that they weren't real likely to be interested in the diplomatic pass.

Dodging blasts of green fire and hexes meant to turn them both into sticks, the pair rushed to the entrance, barely managing to get out before they got sanctioned. Even then, Huntress kept them going. They were out of the city, but that didn't mean the wiz-police would stop chasing. They didn't always let things drop at the gate. Finn, exhausted and weakened by his ordeal, was a bit of a mess when they came huffing and puffing up to the truck. Huntress shoved him into the bed and raised the gate before jumping in the driver's seat. As the wiz-cops considered pursuit–or a couple of nasty bolts of green fire–she went roaring off into the darkness.

It was more than an hour later that Simone was awakened by frantic knocking. She'd fallen asleep on the couch with Billy at her side and a book in her lap. Rising, she yawned and stretched as she listened to see if she'd really heard knocking at her door. Sure enough, it came again. Still yawning, the beautiful ex-sorceress made her way down the stairs to the door, taking her time and checking the shuriken and nunchucks she kept hidden on her person. "Who is it," she called, as she turned the handle?

Simone was a little startled to find Huntress on her doorstep when she opened the door. A momentary surge of fear coursed through her as she caught sight of Finn's partner and assistant there at their door. A glance to her left brought an instant surge of relief. Finn stood there–or rather wobbled there. He looked... _awful_. He looked like he'd run all the way to the wastelands and back.

"We had trouble," said Huntress shortly. Throwing Finn's arm over her shoulder, she helped him walk into the house. With the wizard's help, Simone got him upstairs to the couch. As Finn lay there, looking as bad as she'd ever seen him, his wife asked the obvious, "what happened?" "The guy we were chasing was a body-snatcher," sighed Huntress. She was staring down at Finn's face. "He flattened me, but I think my defenses blocked him out. Finn wasn't so lucky."

"What does that mean," demanded Simone? "It tried to take Finn's body," muttered Huntress. "I took him to Wizard-City to get help. We got it out of him..." She didn't dare look at Simone, just now. The guilt had hit her the minute that door opened. She was sleeping with Simone's man. Strangely, that had never mattered before. Finn wasn't her first married guy. Her first, she'd all but ruined. She'd scored a third of his assets by the time all was said and done. His wife got most of the rest.

Seeing Simone there–and knowing just what she was doing to this woman–aroused a towering _shame_ in her heart. "W-what happened to your shoulder," gasped Simone? She went to pull the tunic down off Simone's shoulder, and the wizard jerked away. "We got in a fight," muttered the wood-nymph. "It... it almost had him. He tried to kill me." Simone gasped in shock. Knowing what she was thinking, Huntress told her, "he's... strong... He'll be alright. We-we got it out of him in time." Moving on, Simone reached out to Finn's friend, saying, "we should treat that..." Huntress turned to walk away, saying, "it's... it'll be fine. You have to take care of _him_ now." Because she _couldn't_. She was fighting to keep the tears back. It had never hurt this bad before.

Standing at the stairs, she said, "he's... There'll be side-effects... He'll... remember things that the creature made him do or think while it had control... You... he'll need somebody to help him get through it." And without a further word, she went down the stairs and out the door. Simone could hear it close behind her.

Outside, Emeraude burst into tears. Staring back over her shoulder at the treehouse, she saw his face as he fought that _thing_–as he tried to kill _himself_ to save her life. Just as she'd said, he would never have hurt her. Standing there in the shadows of Finn's home, her mind replayed those words over and over. She was _his_ girl. He was her boyfriend.

And she had to leave him _here_.

Wiping at tears, the wood-nymph grabbed her pack out of the back of the truck. Shutting the door, she walked off into the darkness, bound for her empty little apartment. In spite of the aches and pains she felt–in spite of the fatigue–she forced herself to keep going across the long lonely miles as she reflected on the unpleasant reality she faced. She couldn't take care of him. With all the money she had and all the power that was in her hands, she hadn't been able to take care of him. She'd caused this. She'd done this to him. She wasn't ready to be a wife or a mother, and this had proved it. Simone would never have done that. She'd never have put his life in jeopardy on a whim. _You need to grow up,_ she thought. He'd managed to do it. Somehow, he had grown beyond her. If she wanted to be a wife, she had to do the same. She had to catch up.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26:

Huntress knew something was up when she saw her rival drive up to the palace with Finn in the passenger seat. She felt a stab of intense, burning jealousy, shortly followed by a jolt of terror. Ordinarily her boyfriend walked. He was so used to walking that, even with this marvelous contraption in hand, he would have walked into town.

But not today.

Just as the wizard feared, Finn was listless and even a little wobbly when he climbed out of the cab. Simone came around to the passenger seat, looking worried, unconsciously echoing exactly how the wood-nymph felt. She didn't want to go to a fucking meeting with Bonnie and the airheads. She wanted to take Finn back to her place, put him to bed, and nurse him back to health. Honestly, she was tempted to tell Simone to take him home. The only thing that stopped her was her hunger. She didn't want to leave him with the other woman at all.

The burning jealousy got worse when Finn put his arms around the taller woman and held her. She was taller and prettier, making the wood nymph feel more than a little inadequate. The wizard wanted to kill her. She wanted to make Simone disappear. She didn't care about the kid. Honestly, she would gleefully have shipped him off to an orphanage, but she wished Simone would just disappear. As they clung to each other, rocking back and forth, the wizard-woman forced herself to turn away. Thankfully the business got cut short. Simone got back in the truck and drove away.

As Finn's wife drove off, the wizard asked, "you ok, donk?" "Yeah," sighed Finn. He sure didn't sound alright. Huntress found her mind wanted to go back to the way Simone stared at him. She just knew what the other woman was thinking. She wanted Finn to quit. She wanted him to be a mailman like his brother or a street-sweeper–somebody who didn't get involved. There were days Huntress thought the same way. She didn't want to go exploring ruins or busting dungeons. She had plenty of money, and, now she had the man to share it with, she wasn't interested in risk.

Unfortunately, at the moment, risk was all they had. From the risk of death at the hands of the aliens to the risk of discovery by an angry wife, they were under constant risk. As Finn turned away from watching the truck make the corner, Huntress reflected on that. It was crazy. The risk had brought them together, but now it threatened everything they had built between them. Finn set out, and Huntress could do nothing but follow. "I'm sorry," said Finn. "For what," rumbled the wizard. "I almost killed you," muttered the hero. "You didn't," retorted his girlfriend. "You'd never hurt me." Finn flushed. Changing the subject, he asked, "what's Bonnie want?" "Beats me," sighed the wizard. "Usual shit, probably."

The committee was present when Finn and his companion walked into Bonnie's office. Only this time they'd been joined by Grid-Face Princess, and Betty now sat in the Grand Master's place. "You look like ass," announced Betty Petrikov. "Thanks," replied Finn. Huntress was glaring at the foreign princess in her skin-tight outfit. That bitch had the biggest knobs the wood-nymph had ever seen in her life, and the jumpsuit she wore was so tight, Emeraude could read her lips. The wizard scarcely saw how the bitch was able to breathe. In the chill of the room, her nips looked like they wanted to say 'hello'. Confronted with that, the jealous wizard would have taken her man and left immediately.

Bonnibel announced, "thank-you for coming, Finn. We wanted to be briefed on what you learned." Huntress blurted, "don't walk into traps..." Finn blushed, but he said, "they're getting smarter, PB. They know we're after them. It's getting a lot more dangerous. We need help." He didn't want to risk their lives anymore. He had a wife and child! Bonnie sighed heavily. The Gumball Guardian was still four days from completion. She still needed Rattleballs.

Turning her hard green eyes on the Grand Master's _ambassador_, Huntress asked, "any hope that his crustiness will send help?" "We're working on it," sighed Betty. "We have to be delicate..." "Delicate," growled the wizard? "You do realize what's at stake, right?" Interrupting, Bonnie said, "that's why I invited Grid-Face Princess. She may be able to help the Grand Master with his cloaking field. If we can free wizards from the project, we can get you some help." The wizard glanced at the enigmatic woman beside the Berry-Bitch. That wasn't the kind of help she really wanted.

Bonnie moved the discussion onward, saying, "please give us your report, Finn." With a heavy-hearted sigh, the hero launched into his report. He told his boss all about how the aliens had tried to put together an attack on Wizard City using a Trojan Horse. He told of how the alien-body-snatcher had waited out for them in plain sight and made it easy to find him. They'd gone there, expecting to deal with an easy mark and get home, but the creature had ambushed them.

"He knew our MO," muttered Finn. "He was expecting to have Huntress come in through the front door, and he was going to jump her bod and use it to trick me." Worried faces followed that exposition. "Instead," sighed Finn. "It was me at the front door, and he ended up snatching my bod instead." Uneasily, the two brainiacs edged back from the hero. "Huntress got it out of me," Finn assured them.

"I'm so glad to hear that, Finn," murmured Bonnie. "Go on, please." Finn explained the alien's plan, telling them how the alien would have used Huntress's body to infiltrate Wizard City, killed the guards at the Grand Master's palace, and then snatched his body too. "But why," asked Phoebe? "They know they can't just wander anymore," said Finn. "They need a place to sit tight and build their transmitter. Weird as some of them look, they would have fit right in in Wizard City, and they had tech to kind of fake being wizards too." And Bonnie would have had a difficult time destroying them inside an allied city. It was a bold plan.

"How do you know all this," asked Wildberry Princess? With a grimace of distaste, Finn admitted, "he got in my head WP. He had all my memories and thoughts..." But Finn had his as well. That was very interesting news to Bonnie. Before she could start questioning him about the aliens and their plans, Finn told her, "it's all a big jumble right now. I-I'd have to sit down and try and organize it all..." "I think we might have to look into that, Finn," said the Princess. "In the mean-time, I think you should rest." "What about the aliens," he asked? "We've crippled them," said Bonnie. "I think we can slow down until we can get you some help." "Ok, PB," sighed Finn.

The dynamite duo headed out, leaving the princesses to their discussions. In spite of having come dressed to attract the hero's eyes, Grid-Face Princess immediately asked, "dare we trust him?" Bonnie retorted, "he'll be fine. Right now we need to look at our next move. There's still a lot of these guys out there. I want to track them. Finn may not be able to take them out now, but we need to keep tabs on what they're doing." Nodding in agreement, Phoebe said, "I'll put some of my intelligence agents on it. These guys have to have fires too."

Breakfast Princess suggested, "well, maybe we should give Finn a month off. He can come to my Kingdom for rest." Rolling her eyes, Slime Princess asked, "didn't get him to fill that nasty hole between your legs last time?" It was something of a sore point with Slime Princess that she was one of the few princesses Finn hadn't made out with. Breakfast had repeatedly rubbed her face in it. The two immediately started bickering, and Wildberry Princess had to separate them. Moving on, Bonnie said, "we still need to figure out what to do about defenses. Even if the cloaking field works, it will drastically reduce available sunlight while it's on. We need to figure out an early warning system to alert us, and we may have to accept that somebody's going to figure out that Ooo's still here."

Knowing exactly where the candy-monarch was going with that, Wildberry growled, "I will never agree to building more weapons, Bonnibel! We've already seen how potent the weapons you already have are! You and Princess Phoebe came close to war already! We don't need another arms race here!" Which she'd already said before. Wildberry had derailed the last seven attempts to build a consensus around defensive measures, and Bonnie was considering how to isolate her so she could move the conversation onward. In the now, the candy monarch accepted defeat with all the grace she could muster and let the meeting break up.

When the others had gone, Bonnie found herself alone with her rival, Phoebe. "Make you wish you hadn't sabotaged my giants," rumbled Phoebe? Flushing, Bonnie nonetheless gave it right back, replying, "who do you think sanctioned my raid on your kingdom...?" Phoebe's jaw came unhinged. Nodding, Bonnie said, "a Berry Kingdom sulfur merchant told Wildberry about your giants. He heard it in a card-game with an elemental. Wildberry brought the news to me, insisting that I had an obligation to restore the balance of power." "That little...," growled Phoebe! She barely stopped herself from going incandescent and burning Bonnie's floor. The candy princess interrupted her with, "we now know it was a mistake. We need to figure out what to do now." Calming herself, Phoebe nodded. Bonnie was right. They needed an army–one that none of them had sole control over–and they needed it _yesterday_.

Meanwhile, Finn and Huntress were walking down Gumbald Boulevard, bound for the Banana Guards' headquarters. "You sure you're ok," asked the wizard? "Nope," replied Finn. The flip way he said that made her want to slap him. At the same time, she really wanted to make him go home. "Got stuff to do," he said. "They... don't really perform well when I'm gone..." He meant the Banana Guards. Huntress was far south of impressed with the pink Princess's army. She thought the little idiot should be working on more battle-robots right-fucking-now.

In spite of his words, Finn's mind was on Huntress. He was in turmoil, just now. His mind was a jumble of emotions. He was angry. He was angry at himself for falling into that trap and angry at that terrible alien for what it had done to him. At the same time, he was intensely aware of what he'd almost done to Emeraude. He'd been close to carving her up like a piece of living origami.

The alien had acted on his strange, love/hate relationship with her. He was intensely, painfully aware of just how much he loved the little jerk-face. She was the center of the universe as long as he was in her presence. At the same time, he was happy with Simone and Billy and still intensely, madly in love with his wife. Every moment he had with the wizard was stolen from his wife and child. Every minute he gave her brought him closer and closer to his own destruction and the loss of everything he loved.

And he _resented_ that.

He resented Huntress for putting him in this spot–for continually doing everything she could to tempt him. He knew it wasn't really her fault. It was _his_. He was married. He was supposed to say _no_ and mean it. Still, as hard as he tried, he couldn't resist her. It was crazy. As long as they were in this town, he could push her away. The minute they were out _there_, it was a different story. It was like they became two different people.

Arriving at the Headquarters, Finn made haste to say his goodbyes. It hurt. The wizard did her best to put a brave face on, when she knew he was doing just what he always did. Every time they walked back into this place, he broke up with her. It was like clockwork, and she could almost time it down to the second. Walk through the gate, tell his girlfriend from the road that he was done with her. It made her want to beat his ass. She wanted to smack him around. He was _hers_! Didn't he see that?!

Seizing his face in her hands, she said, "we need to talk, Finn. We need to talk about... things..." Pulling away–looking like someone had just shoved a knife into his heart he said, "yeah, E... We... we'll talk... Not right now, though. I'm... That took a lot out of me..." As the wizard stared at him, Finn the Human turned and went–really staggered–into the headquarters.

He did try to work. He honestly put in all the effort he had in him. Unfortunately, after the rough weeks of riding up and down the road in Bonnie's beat-up old truck, chasing aliens, getting shot at, and living hard, he just didn't have it. He had been exhausted _before_ the alien snatched his bod from him. He and Huntress had slept on the cot in the back of the truck or out in the bed more times than he cared to remember, and they were both pretty thoroughly beat up. In the end, Finn ended up drifting off with his face on the desk, slobbering on a pile of reports.

That's where Bonnie found him. He looked _old_ to her eyes. He looked like he was burning up his life before her eyes. That said something about how hard this had all been on him. He and Huntress had both been at this far too long. She hadn't realized just how much she'd asked of them until Finn had come in looking like he was falling apart. Her heart went out to him. Reaching out, the Princess pushed him into a sitting a position.

Finn immediately came awake. Babbling apologies, he backed away from Bonnie. "It's alright, Finn," said the Princess. Wiping at his mouth, Finn stared up at her in fear and shame. He couldn't stop thinking about the awful things the alien wanted to do to his best friend. Taking Finn by the arm, Bonnie made him get up and go over to the couch by the window. Sitting down with him, Bonnie said, "it was bad, wasn't it?" Finn glanced away–out the window. It was obvious that he wasn't ready to talk yet. It was like the day after he'd met his father–when he'd come home to her shattered and with only one arm. He hadn't been ready to talk then, either. Eventually she'd gotten it out of him, though. "I'm ordering you to take some time off, Finn," said Bonnie. "Go home and stay. Don't come in to work." "Ok," sighed Finn.

As she rose to go, he asked, "what about E?" Bonnie stopped where she was. The candy monarch was a little surprised that the hostile, suspicious wood-nymph had told Finn her true name. At the same time, she understood how close their experiences had made them. "Those orders will apply to her, too, Finn," said Bonnie. "So you don't need to worry. She'll be fine." Finn nodded. Thanking Bonnie, he lay his head back against the cushions. Simone would be coming by to get him when she was done shopping.

Across town, Simone Mertens sat down in the chair in Doctor Princess's office wearing an excited smile. Finn's condition wasn't the only reason she'd ridden into town with him. Honestly, if not that she already had an appointment to see the doctor, she would have kept her husband at home in bed. He'd been a wreck last night, tossing and turning in bed as if in a constant nightmare. In the end, Simone had gotten out of bed and curled up on a chair in the corner, watching and worrying over him as she faded in and out across the night.

She was going to have to talk to Finn about the path his career was going. She knew that he had to do this. The world still needed him, and there was no-one who could easily do the things he was doing. At the same time, it was getting to be time he walked away from all of that. She wasn't sure what he could or would do, but she wanted him away from that business. Especially with today's news.

"Yes," announced Drusilla Princess. "You're pregnant." Excitedly, Simone said, "how long?" "Just a few weeks," said Dr. P. "Everything looks normal. I'll want to do a checkup on you in a couple weeks, just to be sure." Simone nodded. There was no question she would be right here doing just that. "I also want to see Finn," said the Doctor. "Hmm," asked Simone? "I'm concerned," said the doctor. "From what you described, Finn's got some problems. I want to see him and make sure he's alright." "I'll try, dear," said Simone. "He'll be stubborn..." "Do what you have to do," said the doctor, "but I want him here. That's very important now that you're pregnant again. I want to be sure he's mentally fit to be taking care of you." Simone swore she would twist Finn's arm to come down.

Simone headed out. She needed to do a little shopping, and since the truck was here and available, she planned to stock up as much as she could. Weaving her way through the streets of the town, she hit the farmer's market for some fresh veggies to supplement the garden. Then she bought as much bread as she thought they could consume. Driving past the meat-market, she went in and sprung for a big side of beef that she could butcher up however she wanted and paid to have it delivered along with some ice. That last was something of a sore spot. It was one of the things she missed about the Crown. They'd had flash-frozen food to keep them for weeks. All she had to do was thaw it out.

By the time she was done shopping, Finn was pretty much done at work. Her poor little boy was exhausted, and one of the guards had to pretty much help him walk out to the truck. A worried Simone buckled him in next to their baby, shut the door, and jumped back into the driver's seat. "Baby," said she, as she started the truck up. "I think you should go to the doctor..." Just as expected, her stubborn little boy refused, saying, "just wanna' sleep... I'm'a... I'll be ok." "Alright," said Simone. "But just for now. If you're not feeling better tomorrow." Finn promised he would go see the doctor if he wasn't feeling better tomorrow.

As they rode across the grasslands towards the treehouse, Simone took Finn's hand and said, "I've got some news for you, honey. His face turned towards hers, and he looked anxious and worried. Squeezing his hand, she said, "nothing like that, babe..." Finn waited on the punch line. "We did it," announced Simone! "We're pregnant again, baby!" Finn's expression softened, and then, as if the sun had come out from behind a cloud, he grew excited, becoming the happy little boy she'd fallen in love with.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27:

Simone awoke to the sound of Finn screaming. At first she wasn't sure what was going on. And then, as her senses returned, she realized her husband had the sheets wrapped around him, and he was fighting with them. "_Finn_," she shouted! Knowing how powerful nightmares could be, she backed away. Finn's dreams were especially powerful thanks to his latent wizard powers, and he'd had to exile himself to the couch when she was pregnant with Billy just in case. "Finn, honey," shouted Simone!

The hero came awake with a start. Glancing left and right, he found his beautiful wife standing beside the bed, staring down at him, a look of worry on her lovely face. As he took in the sight of her, a flood of fear, anger, and guilt rushed through him as he remembered the terrible threats his dad had made against Simone, the awful things Martin had done to Bonnie, his affair with Huntress, and the horrible thoughts the alien body-snatcher had made him have. The hero broke down in tears. As Simone stared in worry, he bawled his eyes out, giving vent to gut-wrenching sobs.

That was the limit. "We need to go to town, honey," sighed Simone. Her broken little boy nodded mutely. She made him get up and wash. Then she made him eat–something that had been a particularly difficult trial the last few days. Then they got dressed and went down to the truck. Simone took the wheel, as they rattled over the rough track the offroader had made across the grasslands the last week or so since Bonnie gave it to Finn.

Finn stared off into the distance, his expression bleak. He'd been a mess last night. She'd tried to distract him from his problems with a little nookie, and that had turned into an unpleasant crying jag with him curled up on the couch looking like someone had killed his dog. She didn't know what that _thing_ had done to him, but she knew that it wasn't finished with him yet. If she didn't do _something_, she stood to lose the man she loved.

Arriving at town, she drove straight to the Candy Clinic and dragged her hubby inside. Nurse Poundcake announced their presence to Dr. Princess, and, in short order, they were crowding the line to go to the exam room. Drew Princess had been bugging Simone for a couple of days about getting Finn into town to be looked at. She'd heard some pretty shocking things from Princess Bonnibel when she had the princess in for her followup examination, and she'd ended up even more worried than before. Now, with the young hero sitting there on the exam table, she issued a one-word command: "Strip!"

As Simone looked on, Dr. P went over Finn's body with a fine-tooth comb, finding a shocking amount of damage. "This isn't acceptable," said she. "From now on, I want to see you every time you get back, Finn. As long as you're on this _quest_ to track down these creatures, you're in danger. You'll be back here in this office every time you return. We'll clear my appointments if we have to. That's an order." Finn nodded.

Stepping back, the good doctor announced, "most of this has healed, but there's some deep-tissue damage that I want to monitor, and we'll be strapping your knee until that's healed more." Again Finn simply nodded. His expression suggested that there was something more that was ailing him. Simone had told her some of what she was seeing, and Drew found herself looking the patient over for signs of the causes.

"Finn," said she. "Yeah, doc," replied the hero? "We're going to chat for a bit," announced Dr. P. "Simone, dear? Would you wait outside for a bit?" The beautiful woman rose and hustled out the door, leaving Finn alone with the doctor. It was almost worse than being thrown to the wolves. "No need for that look," said Drew. "I just want you to tell me what you're feeling. You don't have to worry. I won't be shocked or disgusted. Just tell me what you can tell me..." Finn glanced away, as his mind tripped over a horrific thought buried deep down in his mind–Dr. Princess, strapped to her own examination table, with a sharpened pole shoved so far into her snatch it came out her mouth.

"Look at me, a moment," said the doctor. Her voice was calm and soothing, and Finn immediately obeyed that command. "Follow my finger with your eyes, Finn. Listen to my voice." With a nod, Finn began to do just that. Slowly she moved that finger back and forth as she spoke to him in a calm, soothing voice. In just moments, he was under.

It was nearly a half-hour later that the doctor called Finn's wife back inside. Simone returned to the room with a look of almost painful anxiety on her lovely face. Finn was sitting there on the exam table just as he had been when she left. Nothing had changed, but somehow that made her worry all the more. He was looking everywhere but at _her_. "Finn," said the doctor. "Why don't you go outside and sit? Nurse Poundcake's going to get you something to help you rest."

When Finn had gone, Simone turned to their family doctor and asked, "is there...? What's wrong with him?" "Physically he's healthy," explained the doctor. As that sank in, Simone asked, "then why's he...?" "He's suffering a deep psychological trauma, Simone," replied Dr. Princess. "He's having trouble adjusting to what that creature did to him. I think he was especially disturbed at what it tried to make him do to Huntress." Simone's jaw came open. She knew Finn had tried to kill the wizard, but she couldn't get anything more than that out of the other woman. She hadn't been able to get anything out of either of them. "Did he...," burbled the housewife? "He had the knife against her breast," sighed the doctor. "He only barely got control of himself. He... He's afraid that maybe he'd act out against you." Simone frowned. That didn't make sense. Taking her hand, Dr. Princess made her sit down. "There's a... _sexual_ component of what that thing wanted," said the pretty physician.

At Simone's uncomprehending look, Dr. Princess explained, "that creature, as nearly as I can tell, thrived on cruelty and torture, especially _sexual_ torture. It liked to _experience_ it from both the victim and the perpetrator's perspective. It tried to fill his mind with thoughts so vile, I don't think Finn even knows how to articulate them... And he's afraid of intimate contact now." Horrified, Simone babbled, "w-what do we do?" "There's a number of things I can try," said the doctor. "I can use hypnosis to bury some of those things or to at least help him become remote from the memories. I can counsel him on some of the other problems. And... I'm going to recommend a surrogate for the sexual dysfunction."

Simone's face went red hot. "Y-you mean," she babbled? Nodding, the doctor said, "his biggest problem is his fear of hurting _you_. He's so afraid, that he can't get himself to even try. If there were a stranger involved..." Blushing, Simone nonetheless nodded. She was willing to try anything to have her husband back. "Alright," sighed the beautiful ex-sorceress. In the now, the doctor told her, "take him home. Put him to bed. I've prescribed a sedative. It'll help him sleep. I hate to do this to him, since he's so beat-up right now, but he's probably a bit thrashy so he really shouldn't be sleeping with _you_ in your condition." Simone nodded. She knew. She'd take him home and put him right to bed.

"I want him eating," said the doctor. "He's got a Serotonin imbalance right now. That's some of his fatigue. Put lots of protein in him." Acknowledging the instructions, Simone nonetheless found herself seething in terror. Honestly, she was afraid of just what those awful ideas were. She was horrified at what her sweet boy had been put through and more than a little angry at Bonnibel for making him go through it. She knew there weren't very many options, but she was angry all the same. _Not the time, Simone,_ she reminded herself. It was time to take Finn home. When the pair had gone, the doctor moved to her office, shut the door and locked it, then got on the phone to Princess Bubblegum. She had a report to make.

It was days later that Finn found himself riding into town once more with Simone at his side. Finn was at the wheel, and he was talking in his usual excited fashion. Rested and a little more relaxed after a few days on Dr. P's meds, he was almost normal. Simone would have guessed he was back to his old self again if not for the fact that he avoided touching or being touched by her. It hurt a little, though she well understood what he was going through. Now Dr. Princess was ready to start tackling the psychological problems. If all went well, she would get her husband back–the happy-go-lucky guy who never seemed to worry about anything.

The topic of the day was baby-names. They still didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, but Finn had his ideas as to what he wanted to name their second child. Simone was content to let him talk. It was such a refreshing change to have him focused on something so small and noncontentious that she was happy to let him take the lead. She wanted to hold him. She wanted to put her head on his shoulder and just enjoy the feel of him near her. Sadly that was going to have to wait a bit.

Rolling up on the clinic, Finn parked the car along the street, then rushed around to help his wife out of the car. It was the only contact she'd gotten these last few days. Finn was almost manic about trying to help her. It was crazy. He was a wreck, with his mind overwrought from psychic torture, and he was still anxious and worried over _her_. She half wanted to shout at him, but she knew that was worry talking. Now, she held onto his hand as he shut the car door and thanked him as he led the way inside, holding the doors open for her.

Finn was a little surprised to find Bonnie in the waiting room when they came in. For that matter, Simone was a little surprised herself. "Hey, Peebles," said Finn. "You here for a check up too?" Bonnie gave him a sweet smile and said, "had to talk to Dr. Princess about something, Finn. How are you?" "Pretty good, PB," replied Finn. "My knee's a lot better. And that spot under my shoulder's healing up." Bonnie nodded sagely. She'd been scared shitless when Dr. Princess told her about the wound that had almost taken his life. He hadn't even realized how close he'd come to dieing! Things were going to have to change. She couldn't take him away from his family that way–and she didn't know what she would do if she ever lost him.

Dr. Princess came out just then, announcing, "ah, Finn! You're right on time!" She beckoned him to come into the back. Giving Simone a smile and a wave, Bonnie went through another door. The young wife found herself a seat and waited, hoping that things would go well for her beau. In the back, Drusilla Princess led her patient to the therapy room and got him seated on the couch in front of the mirrored back wall. She made him comfortable with a bottle of ice-cold water and a couple of sugar-cookies, conscious all the while of the faces on the far side of the mirror.

"Alright, Finn," said the doctor. "We're going to give you a little therapy..." "Ok," said Finn. "What do I do?" Smiling Drew Princess replied, "you just relax, sweet boy. Relax and listen to my voice." She spoke in a calm, soothing tone. He really liked Dr. P's voice. Like the rest of her, it was very pretty. Drew smiled when he said that to her. Stroking his long, blonde hair, she said, "that's very sweet, Finn. Now follow my finger with your eyes..."

Bonnie grimaced as she watched the doctor put Finn into a state of hypnosis. They'd had an unpleasant argument about this. The doctor wanted to wipe these unpleasant memories right off the bat. The Candy Kingdom's ruler wanted access to them first. She wanted to find out all she could about what had happened with Finn in Wizard City. She wanted to know all about this Imgwesh and his plans. She wanted to know what had happened to the little engineer and his transmitter.

Beside her, Breakfast Princess sat nibbling at her candy-coated fingernails. She'd insisted on coming to watch this. Bonnie would gleefully have slapped her. This wasn't about whatever twisted fantasies she had about Finn. This was about saving their lives–about saving all of Ooo. On Bonnie's left sat Wildberry Princess and Grid-Face Princess. Both had come prepared with questions of their own to ask just to be sure they got through everything. The four princesses watched as Finn slowly drifted into a state somewhere between waking and dreaming. When she was reasonably certain that he was under, Dr. Princess turned to the mirrored wall expectantly.

Bonnie keyed the microphone in her chair and said, "you may begin, Dr. Princess. Start with the events of the night Finn tried to capture the alien." She was reasonably certain that Finn was Finn, but she couldn't really afford to take chances at this point. He was their principal agent in the fight. If he was compromised, they were screwed. As she watched, the doctor turned back to Finn the Human and began asking questions.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

Finn was in a chipper mood when he came out from under hypnosis. "Hey, Dr. P," said he with a smile. "What're we doing again?" "We're finished, actually," said she. "W-what," stammered Finn? Pointing at the clock, the good doctor said, "all done..." Finn gobbled. It hardly seemed like a minute had passed since he'd come in and sat down. "Been a while," chuckled Drew Princess. "Wow," said Finn. Then, as he thought about that, he added, "I feel pretty good! Thanks, Dr. P..."

He bounced out of the chair, and the physician imagined he thought he was done. Catching his arm, she said, "just one more thing, Finn..." Finn replied, "uh, sure..." Standing before him, she said, "Simone told me you've been having some issues with intimacy..." He gave he a look of complete incomprehension. Scrambling for the right words, the doctor said, "she told me that you don't want to kiss or touch anymore, Finn." The hero blushed to his hair and looked down at her feet.

Taking hold of his face, she said, "it's ok, Finn. I know what you went through. I understand." That helped a little. Taking a deep breath, he said, "ok... Uh... I guess you're gonna' put me under again, huh?" "No," said she. "This has to be done while you're awake..." Finn blushed as his discomfort increased again. It was one thing to tell her all kinds of crazy stuff while he was kinda-sorta asleep. Talking about his problem while he was wide awake...

"We're not going to _talk_, Finn," said Drew. Confused now, Finn asked the obvious, "uh, so what're we going to do?" With a chuckle, she said, "we're going to have sex, Finn. We're going to work our way through those fears and inhibitions!" Backing away from her, Finn howled, "_we can't do that_! I'm married!" Drew followed him, keeping him from getting away. "I've already discussed this with Simone," said she. "W-what," howled Finn? Drawing out a slip of paper, she handed it to him.

Finn took the paper and warily read it. It was cute, and it almost made her laugh. He kept one eye on her and one eye on the page. It was even more cute the way his face went all agape when he finished reading the note. Finn looked up at her with his face red hot. Then, lowering his arms to his sides, he sighed, "ok..."

Standing before him with a gentle smile on her face, Dr. Princess told her patient, "alright, Finn. Seduce me. Show me what you do with Simone." Finn glanced away. Really, he looked at anything _but_ her. "Come now," said the beautiful doctor. "I know you find me attractive. You once asked me out, remember?" Finn's blush deepened, and she knew what he was thinking. She'd been one of the _victims_ in the awful images the alien had forced into Finn's mind. Leaning forward, she took his face in her hands and stroked his chin, saying, "you won't hurt me, Finn." His eyes said that maybe he didn't believe that.

Dr. Princess leaned in and kissed his young lips. A shiver went through him, and he looked almost like he would bolt. At the same time, he kind of liked it. When she went to withdraw, he followed her, his lips pressed in against hers, and his hands reached out and actually held her in place. When she felt his tongue slip between her lips, the good doctor was certain that she had broken the ice. They stood there a few moments, just kissing, Finn's tongue teasing at hers. He was young and hot and bold, and she found him _refreshing_. Breaking that kiss, she smiled at him and said, "see? Nothing bad happened. Now. Again."

Finn kissed the beautiful doctor. And then he kissed her again. And then again. For the next half hour, they did little more than that. It was like making out with the various princesses all over again. Only when he was comfortable–even _eager_ with that–did the doctor move on. Taking him by the hand, she led him over to the couch and sat him down. Settling on the couch beside him, she said, "we can go as far as you're comfortable with, Finn."

The two began to kiss again, and slowly Finn warmed to the experience. His hands moved from his lap to her shoulders and then from her shoulders to the small of her back. From there, they moved to her hips. He stayed in that comfort zone a good long while before slowly moving onward. Tentatively he slipped one hand up under her lab coat and caressed her big right booby through her dress. "Mmmm," moaned the beautiful doctor. He had a nice touch, unlike the typical ham-handed fellow. His other hand joined the party, teasing at her other big knocker, stroking and caressing her big baby-food factories. His fingers delicately traced circles around the nips, causing the hard little nubbins to 'pop'. The pretty doctor sighed into his mouth at the feel of that.

Slowly she lay back, as her body got into what it was experiencing. Finn followed, leaning over more and more until he was crouched over her on the couch. As his body felt the heat of the moment, he forgot the lingering doubts and the fears that had plagued him the last week or so. His right hand slipped down to her thigh, and she felt his fingers stroking her inner thigh. _That's it, Finn,_ she thought. _Mmmm, you _are_ good._ His fingers glided along her tender flesh, raising goosebumps. Breaking contact, he began to kiss his way across her cheek and down along her throat.

The doctor felt the hem of her sweater-dress sliding up, and she raised her butt to let him. The hem slid up and up, and she felt the cool air against her hips. "Yes, honey," she murmured, encouraging him. With his left index finger, he began to rub her pussy through the soft satin of her panties. With his right, he unfastened the catch to her bra, causing her big knobs to spring free of their confinement. "Suck 'em if you want," she breathed. Finn pressed his face into the soft flesh and rubbed it around, and she giggled at the feel of his stubble against her tender boobies.

His tongue traced all around the big left knob, sliding underneath and then up over the heavy globe. His right hand stroked her flank, while his left continued to tease at her hot snatch. Soft sighs and moans left the beautiful doctor's lips as Finn had his way with her. As she got hotter and hotter, those cries got louder and louder, and her body began to wriggle around, her hips pushing back against his hand. When he got around to having a taste of those big knockers, she was ready to scream.

The pretty doctor pressed her chest into his face as Finn went after that big booby, licking and nibbling at it, while he squeezed the other one. "Aaagh," squeaked the doctor! "Oooohnn... yesss..." A soft, musky odor told Finn's sensitive nose that the good doctor was wet as an ocean. _You can do this, Finn,_ he told himself. Reaching down, he got hold of the waist of those silky panties and started sliding them off. Dr. Princess raised her hips to let him. The hero slipped those drawers all the way off and tossed them aside. Immediately his beautiful therapist opened her legs in welcome.

Taking his face in her hands to distract him, Dr. Princess kissed her handsome patient, teasing his tongue with hers. At the same time, she reached down and helped him get his pants off. His pecker flopped down against her wrist, long and thick just as Simone had described it. Grasping the thick shaft she aimed it at her honey-pot. "C'mon," she breathed. "You'll like it..." As the fat thing began to force its way inside, she shrieked. Finn almost pulled back, but the pretty doctor wrapped those long, sexy legs around his waist just like Emeraude, and held him there. "More, baby," she whined! "Put more in!"

Drawing back, Finn stuck her again. Biting her lip to keep from screaming, the pretty doctor breathed hard through her nose, and her fingers clawed at his shoulders. "It's... it's... gooooooddd," howled the pretty doctor as she felt him stuff that big thing inside. Having spent the last week more or less afraid to even think about sex, Finn lost it almost immediately, shooting his stuff inside her. She moaned in heat at the feel of that. He was so fucking fertile! Breath coming hot and fast, she said, "ok, baby... You can do it now... Go ahead and fuck me, honey."

Drawing back, Finn began to do just that. "Oooh," moaned Drew. "Uh-huh..." Her hands squeezed his shoulders, and her legs pulled on his waist. Finn's hard dick slid in deep, and his hips clapped into hers. It felt good. After a week and more of terror, it felt great. Finn bent and began kissing and licking her big boobies, nuzzling them and nipping at them. He kissed her, swapping spit with her as he slid his fingers through her brown hair. "So pretty," moaned Finn.

The sexy doctor went over the edge with a shriek. He was fucking huge! She realized belatedly that she should have lubed him up. She was going to be sore after this. At the same time, that huge thing was driving her up the wall. Her fingers clawed at his back, leaving welts among the scar-tissue there. Her hips rose to meet his as he powered that thick pole into her belly over and over. Back arching as he began sucking on her knobs again, the hot doc went over again. "Aaaaggh," wailed the sex-pot. Grabbing his face, she pulled his lips to hers and kissed him. "Shit... Shit you're fucking good," howled Drusilla. "Oooaaaahh... _baby_!" Her hips were wriggling around all over the place, making nasty squelching sounds on the wet leather beneath her ass.

Neither the doctor, nor her patient had any idea they were being watched. One figure had hung around in the hidden room beyond the mirror. She'd heard the doctor talking about additional therapy, and she'd stayed behind out of curiosity. She'd watched as the doctor and her patient kissed. She'd watched as Drew Princess led Finn the human through caressing her body and touching her, and she'd watched as the two finally got down to business.

As she watched, the tall princess had gone from amazement to horniness, to an intense hunger. Now, as Finn went from one big booby to the other, licking and biting at them and sucking hard enough to leave a mark, Grid-Face Princess caressed her own big knockers, squeezing them and toying with them, while she rubbed her pussy. She'd unzipped her skintight jumpsuit down to her crotch, and she had both big knobs hanging out in the chill breeze. The horny princess rubbed her twin buttons, stroking the sensitive left one until she was hot as a fire-cracker before switching to the right one causing her overheated body to blast off.

She couldn't really help fantasizing about _helping_ poor Finn overcome his little problem. She couldn't help thinking about being the one to heal his emotional damage and help him to love again. She could just imagine guiding that big, fat cock into her pussy. She could almost _feel_ his big dong opening her honey-pot. She could taste his lips and feel his hands on her knockers, squeezing and teasing them.

In the therapy room, Finn was really pounding the doctor now, losing himself in the feel of her hot snatch on his fat dick. It was driving him crazy. The sound of Dr. P screaming in his ear and the feel of her hands scratching his back the way Simone did when she was out of control had him in the groove. Higher he soared and higher, losing all thought of pain or hurt in blissful pleasure. Finally he went over the edge. Jamming his meat into the doctor once. Then twice. Then, on the third stroke, he shot his stuff deep inside her. "Yesssss," howled the doctor, as she clawed at her flat stomach. "Oh, shit, yes!" Inside the observation room, the pretty princess had a blinding orgasm that caused her hot snatch to spray hot fuck-oil all over the mirror.

For a long moment, Finn lay there atop the doctor, feeling her hot body against his, feeling the sticky sweat almost gluing them together. When he finally regained his senses, an embarrassed Finn got up off Dr. Princess. "Mmm," sighed the doctor. Reaching into a pocket of her white coat, the sexy physician brought out a lollipop and began sucking on it in contentment. Staring down at his wilted dick and the floor, Finn asked, "uh... so was that ok?" "You did well, Finn," said Dr. P. "You can get dressed now."

As he struggled into his clothes–rushing like she had the day she got caught making out with her boyfriend behind her parents' house, Drusilla Princess found herself chuckling. "No need to rush, Finn," said she. "It was a natural thing. People do that. No-one got hurt, did they?" "No," he murmured. He slowed down, which went a long way towards helping him get his clothes on. He'd been about to put his pants on backwards. When he was dressed again, Drew got up and put her own clothes on, then walked him to the door. "Come back Thursday," said she, as she sent him on his way.

Simone was on her feet the minute Finn came out of the therapy room. Finn's face went red hot, and he immediately hung his head in shame. Far from being upset, Simone went and took his hand, saying, "let's get home, honey. You can take a shower, while I cook us something nice." "Y-you're not...," stammered Finn. She shushed him. They didn't need to talk about that. Not now. Taking the hint, Finn gave his wife's hand a squeeze. "Better," she asked? "A little, yeah," he admitted. Smiling, she led him out the door, bound for the truck. They had a lot to chat about.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29:

"For the record, I don't like this," muttered Dr. Princess. "We need the last of the alien's memories," retorted Wildberry Princess. The pretty doctor glanced to the ruler of her homeland. Bonnie's expression said it all. This had moved beyond concern for Finn's health. They were way beyond even the issue of propriety. Politics had gotten involved, and the other princesses were forcing her hand. The irritated doctor said, "you should all go into the observation room..." Wildberry Princess and Breakfast Princess left immediately. It took a glare from Bonnie to get Grid-Face Princess moving.

With a heavy sigh, Bonnie said, "this will be the last session. When we're done, I want you to close off those memories for good." The doctor nodded, but she still looked angry. Calmly, the princess asked, "how is he? Is he... getting better?" Blowing out a breath, Drew said, "yes. Yes, he's already a lot better than he was." "And the other things...," asked Bonnie? Drew's eyes went wide. Nodding, Bonnie said, "don't ask me how I know, but I know..." Blushing to her hair as she wondered just how much the princess _did_ know, Dr. Princess replied, "he's getting better. I understand he's been able to... _function_ with his wife..." "Good enough," said Bonnie. Thanking the doctor for all she'd done for Finn, the princess went out into the hall and made the turn for the observation room.

Out in the waiting room, Finn had just come strolling in, fresh from his daily meeting with the guards. Now that he was back, things were getting better there. Crime was down again. They were making inroads into picking up some of the ne'er-do-wells from the streets. Things were going well for him again. They were going so well that part of him was wondering when the other shoe was going to drop. Now, as he caught sight of Grid-Face Princess, standing there in her usual skin-tight outfit, he couldn't help wondering if this was the other shoe.

"Uh, hi, GP," said he, as she approached. "Hi, Finn," said she. When he would have passed by her, she stepped in his path, making him stop. "Uh, I... got an appointment," said the hero. Resting a hand on his arm, Grid-Face Princess said, "I've always thought we were good friends, Finn... I mean, after you saved me from humiliation at the hands of Ice-King when he was in disguise." Nodding, Finn answered that with an, "uh, yeah..." He wasn't sure where she was going with this. However, between Huntress and Jake's revelations about the nature of womankind and his current _issues_ with being around girls, she was making him a little nervous.

Stroking his arm with the tips of her gloved fingers, the stacked princess murmured, "if you had any... _problems_... I'd be more than willing to help you." Finn frowned. What did that mean? Reaching up and teasing his cheek with the tip of a finger, she said, "I'd be glad to do just about _anything_ you needed me to do for you, Finn." Finn's frown deepened. Was she coming on to him? He couldn't help but notice that her jumpsuit was even tighter than usual. To be honest, he'd been _noticing_ her knobs more or less since he'd come through the door. "Well, uh, thanks," said Finn, as he backed away. "I gotta' go see Dr. P..." And he scooted through the door of the therapy room without a further word and shut it behind him.

"You're late," muttered Drew Princess. Finn stammered, "I... uh... that is... S-sorry..." She glanced up at him in puzzlement. "What's wrong," she asked? "Uh... nothing...," replied Finn. "Just me being dumb again." She didn't quite believe him. At the same time, she had to get on with the job of siphoning out the remaining alien memories before she locked them away for good. Now Finn noticed that something was bothering _her_. "You ok, Dr. P," he asked? Drew's mouth came open. He _was_ perceptive. "I'm alright, Finn," said she. "Let's get you in the chair, shall we..."

Finn was calm and patient–far calmer than she would have been if she was in his shoes. She had a fear of being controlled. She feared being coerced into doing something she didn't really want to do. It was part of her fascination with hypnotism. It said something about the level of trust he had in her that he didn't even say a word as she strapped his arms down to the chair–in case he got thrashy. It was one of his most endearing traits. Smiling up at her, he waited as she prepared to put him under. "Just follow my finger, sweetie," said she. Patiently, Finn did just that.

At least he tried to. It took a lot longer than before. Maybe it was that they had been intimate, or maybe it was something else. Finn couldn't seem to help staring at her boobies. He'd focus on the tip of her finger, but over time, his eyes would slide off to her boobies, watching them rise and fall. It almost made her giggle. Yes, her patient was definitely a tit man. Changing tacks, Drew told her patient, "I tell you what, Finn. Why don't you watch my breasts...?" Finn's face went red hot. With a teasing smile, she said, "it's ok, sweetie. I'm flattered that you like them."

That went some way towards relaxing him. Finn stared with fascination at those plump baby-food factories, and Drew even unfastened her lab coat to let him get a good view. Today she was wearing a short grey dress with a plunging neckline since she was going on a date tonight, and Finn got a wonderful view of an ocean of soft green skin. Dazedly, he watched those big mounds rise and fall with her breathing as she calmly and soothingly talked to him. As Bonnie and the other princesses watched–two in abject jealousy–Finn finally went under.

Princess Bubblegum cleared her throat, somewhat startling Drusilla Princess. The good doctor had been having naughty thoughts of skipping her date and calling an emergency _therapy_ session with Finn. It was only the certain knowledge that she'd lose her license that kept her from doing something rather foolish. "Now that he's under, we should begin," said the Princess. Blushing, Drew fastened her lab-coat again.

Elsewhere, the candy princess's Court Wizard came stalking into Silk's Pub to find her aunt, cousin, mother, and grandmother all waiting on her. She didn't want to be having this meeting. She didn't want to see any of them. Having broken ties with them, she rarely spent any time in their company. It was only the forest with all its mysteries and all its strange pleasures that brought her home at all. Truth be told, she resented her family, and she couldn't have told you why she kept on saving them from the slavers and other assorted ne'er-do-wells who came to their homes.

She'd been afraid the minute she let slip who she was seeing these days that they would start sticking their noses into her business. Now she had confirmation of her fears. Her race existed almost as parasites on the rest of the world. They didn't farm. They didn't raise animals. They hunted for what food they provided for themselves, but most often it was about the mark. The objective was to latch onto the fattest fish you could find, seduce him, get him hooked on the cookie either through skill or drugs, and leech off him as long as you could.

As Emeraude approached, her mother signaled the waiter. A diminutive sugar-wafer came strolling up with a notepad in one hand, and the wood-nymph wizard found herself seeing red. Last she'd heard her mother was broke. She'd lost both her sugar-daddies at once, and she was currently _between_. That meant she was planning on somebody else paying for her meal today. The wizard was very tempted to give her something to really think about. Instead, she took a seat opposite her mother, glaring at the older woman as if she could incinerate the bitch with her eyes.

Her mother went well wrong right out the gate when she greeted the wizard with, "good morning, Emeraude..." "I told you never to call me that again," growled Huntress. "And why not," laughed the older woman. "It _is_ the name we gave you, your father and I." Which was a bald-faced lie as her _father_ was too busy navel-gazing and eating magic mushrooms to name anything beyond his belly-lint. He'd built up a tolerance to the potions, though, and he'd woken up one day and escaped while he still could.

"Auntie," tittered her idiot cousin. She was looking at the bruise on the wizard's shoulder. Emeraude knew she should have gone home to change. She'd been hoping to corner Finn at his office, but then the guards had called to let her know that _these_ four were here to annoy her. She'd been wearing something a little sexier than her working garb for the first time in weeks, and she'd been hoping to use Finn's typical reaction to get him talking about their relationship. Now she was here with these idiots and time was slipping through her fingers.

"Did he give you that," asked her grandmother? In her grandmother's mind it was always one or the other. Either you were the abuser or you got abused. She'd drilled that relentlessly into her six daughters, raising them to be takers–to get all they could out of any and every man they encountered. "No," growled the wizard. Rolling her eyes, the wizard's mother said, "it's her odious _business_, mother. She doesn't believe in letting the man work for her. She actually goes out and puts her own life at risk."

Emeraude barely caught herself before she rolled her own eyes. This bitch seemed to think that the gravy train would go on for her forever. Eventually she was going to get old. They were only good for two-hundred years or so. Emeraude was already _forty_, and she felt like she wouldn't have enough time for all she wanted to do and see. This mutton-head was eighty, with maybe another fifty or sixty good years before she had to resort to trickery to lure them in. She wouldn't be smokin' forever! With no real skills to rely on, what was she going to do then? At least the wizard's grandmother knew how to treat illnesses. She had that to fall back on. This mophead was going to _starve_!

The five women were forced to deal with the waiter, who was standing there patiently waiting for their orders. All five placed orders, though Huntress kept hers small scale since _their_ feast was very likely to be coming out of _her_ pocket. "So, I understand you've been holding out on us," announced the older wood-nymph. Frowning, Emeraude replied, "how so?" "Cousin Madolen tells me that you've taken Finn the Human as your own," replied her mother. "She says you've been seeing him for some time."

Emeraude glared at the airheaded idiot. She was useless even for a nymph. "What I said was, 'I have an interest in him'," retorted the wizard. "You said you were pursuing him," said Madolen. Rolling her eyes, the wizard countered, "which isn't the same as owning." "But you're here," said her mother. "I work here as Court Wizard," retorted the wizard. "So what have you been doing to win him," demanded her mother? "I brought you some Grey Morrigans if you need them." "I don't drug people," hissed the wizard, "and if you had any sense, you wouldn't mention that here." Most people on Ooo had limited tolerance for wood-nymphs as it was.

Rolling her eyes, her mother laughed, "surely you don't intend to rely on your charms, child? That's too fleeting. After he's dipped his wick, he'll just move on. Or are you still fantasizing about _love_." Seeing the look of naked rage that came on Emeraude's face, her grandmother interrupted, "Marjolaine! Can't you see you're upsetting her." Reaching out and petting Emeraude on the head, her grandmother said, "it's alright dear. You do this whichever way you need to." Which wasn't nearly as comforting as it was meant to sound.

The waiter returned with their meals, laying out savory salads piled high with chunks of tasty meat. The five women dug in. As they ate and passed around the dressing, the wizard pondered how to be away from this pack of freeloaders. Fortunately she'd never been fool enough to tell them how much money she really had. She would have found herself taking care of them.

While they ate, the four freeloaders bandied about ways their wayward relation could reel Finn the Human in and make him their collective slave. At least the three adults did. Madolen could only ask inane questions about the size of Finn's pecker and the size of his biceps. Emeraude knew she'd have to watch that. Madolen wasn't bright enough to know when she needed to be more circumspect. At the same time, she found herself in serious conflict with the three older idiots. They had dreams of getting fabulously wealthy from a mark who had a name that made gangsters and slavers tremble. When her mother had the nerve to suggest she 'step aside' and let Madolen 'finish things', the wizard had had enough.

Throwing down her fork, Huntress growled, "over my dead body..." Without a further word, she stormed out. Her mother and grandmother stared after her in shock, while her cousin asked, "who's going to pay?" Putting down her napkin, Marphisa said, "shut it. All of you." This was exactly what she feared would happen when Madolen came home talking about what her cousin was up to. Plunking down cash, the elder nymph got up and went after Emeraude.

She didn't have to go far. When she got outside, she found her niece standing on the corner muttering curses under her breath. Coming up alongside the younger woman, Marphisa said, "tell me what ails you, child." The wizard-woman flushed. Her aunt was the one person she would have opened up to in all the world. They had a bond. Emeraude was the only person who gave enough of a damn to come out to find her when she'd been taken. After seeing her niece be nearly beaten to death for her sake, Marphisa had developed an affection for the hard-headed younger woman.

"I've become a fool, aunt Marphisa," sighed the wizard. The older woman knew what that meant. If a nymph told you she'd become a fool, it usually meant that she'd let the mark get under her skin. "You love him," murmured the older woman. It wasn't a question. With a sigh, the wizard replied, "heels over head." Shaking her head in some disgust at herself, Emeraude said, "I don't even understand why. I... He... He's a _donk_. He's... He works for Princess Bubblegum for _free_! At least he used to. He... He's always trying to help others. He..." "He's _kind_, Emeraude," interrupted her aunt. The younger woman blushed.

Smiling, Marphisa said, "there's no shame in having affection for a male. If more of us learned to show affection, we wouldn't have to resort to drugs to have our companions. But you're a beautiful girl, child. Why isn't he here with you?" The wizard flushed. _That_ was the really dangerous question. "Child," said she, "I know how you feel... I understand it, but you're putting your future at risk. Do you really want to throw your life away like this? Risking it when a man could put food on your table?" Stubborn to the last, the wizard replied, "I wouldn't feel worthy of _having_ a man if I did that. And anyways, I know he loves me." "So then what's in the way," asked the older woman? With a heavy sigh, the wizard admitted, "he's married..."

Back at the Candy Clinic, the princesses had moved on, delving into some of the darker things that were in Finn's head. This was the dangerous bit. There were memories there that were not Finn's, and they had caused him to become almost _violent_ last time. "What was Imgwesh's plan after building the transmitter," asked Wildberry? Staring at the mirror, Finn licked his lips and said, "mmm! Cook you, berry-soup! Cook all the berries!" It was a horrifying idea, and Wildberry recoiled from it. Bonnie stepped in, suggesting, "pretty hard for one man, body-snatcher or not..." Finn grinned an evil grin and replied, "got lots of friends, Chewy... I could trade the serpent for the time to have lots of fun..."

Bonnie shut off the pick-up. It was just as she feared. The threat wasn't over with Martin's death. Many of his crew had similar goals. Ooo was ripe for exploitation if even one of them escaped. They needed to finish this, but they also needed a backup plan. She and Phoebe needed to get to work building that army. Fast. Returning to the previous thread, Bonnie keyed the mike and asked, "do you know Martin's employers?" Laughing, Finn replied, "I was their hole-card, baby! Was gonna' do fatso when we got the worm! Me'n the boys was gonna' have a whole lot of fun with _you_!"

"I think that's enough," announced Wildberry. It was a funny sentiment from the instigator who'd pushed this whole agenda. Bonnie suspected her colleague had been hoping for proof that the threat was over to squelch another vote on building a defensive army. Wildberry could be naive that way. Bonnie refused to let this go. It was hurting Finn, but she pushed anyway. She had to. There was a lot riding on his answers. She wanted her irritating colleague to learn a valuable lesson.

"So you were going to return for the Devourer," asked Bonnie? "Did your employers know that Ooo was still inhabited?" A strange expression came over Finn. His eyes took on an evil glint. Then suddenly he tried to leap out of the chair. Straining at the straps, Finn snarled, "they would have given you all to _me_! I would have fed for _centuries_ on your suffering alone! I would have skinned you a millimeter at a time!" That was too much for Drew. Without a further word, she placed the device the Princess gave her against Finn's temple and switched it on.

Almost immediately he calmed down. Collapsing back into the chair, his whole body stiffened and then went slack. As painful shudders wracked his body, his eyes came open. Slumped in his chair, he murmured, "Glob, Dr. P... I... was havin' a nightmare..." As the princesses watched, he began to cry. Drusilla Princess hurriedly unfastened the straps holding him, taking note of the fresh bruises as she did so. Slipping her arms around him, Dr. Drew held him close, letting him cry into her chest. Inside the observation room, an embarrassed Bonnie and a terrfied Wildberry got up and left, leaving two jealous rivals watching another beautiful woman offer comfort to the man they both wanted.

Knowing that one of the princesses had hung around and watched her therapy session with Finn, Drew told Finn to wait while she stepped out into the hall and kicked the two watchers out. Then she called her date and canceled. Finn needed her more than ever. Returning to the therapy room sans lab-coat, she found Finn examining the mirror in puzzlement. A thrill of fear went through her. He wasn't supposed to know about the questioning, but the subconscious was a tricky thing. The beautiful doctor came over, finding Finn so focused on the mirror that he didn't even see her reflection in it. When she put her arms around him, a startled Finn jumped.

"Oh, hey, Dr. P," said he. The doctor spun him around, turning his face away from the mirror. Leaning in, she pressed her heavenly body against his and kissed him. "I-I didn't know we were doin' therapy today," burbled Finn around a mouthful of tongue. "Since you're here, I thought we could fit it in," she said, giggling at her own unintentional double entendre. After a moment's cluelessness, Finn laughed too.

It took a little coaxing to get Finn responding. He was getting better with that, but it always took a little coaxing. Whether it was his hangups about being married or the deep psychological trauma he'd suffered, he was hesitant to touch her. Still, with no lab-coat in the way today, he was a little faster. Maybe it was the informality of seeing her in a dress, but Finn warmed up quickly. In short order he was touching her, stroking her hips through the soft grey silk of her dress.

From there, Finn moved on to squeezing her ass as the two swapped spit. She could feel his dick getting harder and harder against her belly, and she really couldn't help grinding her hips against him, teasing him. His right hand slipped up to her chest and cupped her big left knob, squeezing and caressing it. When that proved not enough, he pulled the strap of her dress down off her shoulder, exposing her big, round booby in a tight push-up bra. The bra was cut low in the front, exposing her creamy flesh, and Finn bent and slurped her nip into his mouth. "Mmmm," moaned the doctor.

Finn shivered at the sound of her voice. And then, as he licked her there, she moaned again, sending another shiver through her body. That was when the change came. It was like a switch had been flipped. The hero occupied her lips with his as he fished out his dick. Then Finn jerked the skirt up over her hips, exposing the soft blue panties she was wearing. The hero jerked the crotch of her drawers aside, jerked her into the air and shoved her hard against the glass wall. "Oof," squeaked Drew Princess. But then she felt that big cock against her opening and, momentarily, all she could do was hang on.

The sexy doctor shrieked as Finn shoved that huge thing into her. Driving deep in just a couple thrusts, he began to slam-fuck her. His hips slapped into hers hard, and he began to bite and chew at her neck. His hands squeezed her ass hard enough to bruise her soft flesh, and he actually _bit_ her left nip hard enough to hurt.

Drew cried, "Finn! Finn, you're hurting..." Grabbing her hair, he pulled her face to his and shoved his tongue into her mouth. He had her pressed into the wall now, and he continued to rail her hard enough to make the glass wall shake. Drew screamed into his mouth. A shiver of terror went through her–along with a shocking orgasm. He was out of control, and she couldn't help thinking that maybe the strange gadget her counterpart in Wizard City had provided had failed.

On the far side of the glass, Breakfast Princess watched in jealousy as Finn screwed the shit out of that damned doctor. The bitch had tried to throw her out! She'd immediately gotten suspicious. When the doctor started putting moves on Finn, her suspicions had been justified. She couldn't help rubbing her snatch as she watched Finn get it on with the bitch. She'd graduated to rubbing her own boobies while she played with her pussy. Now as she slid a finger in and out of her hot, hungry pussy, the breakfast cutie watched the hot action on the far side of the mirror as the handsome hero gave the bitchy doctor more than she'd bargained for.

Drew was screaming into Finn's shoulder, as he bit her throat and handled her poor knockers roughly. He was like an animal! Shoving his rod in to the root, he shot his goo in her, and she could _feel_ the heat of it. Seeming to be out of his mind, he kept right on screwing her. Turned on by the shocking _violence_ of it, Drew wrapped her long legs around his hips, finding herself biting him back.

Simone had admitted that she and Finn played with bondage sometimes in the early days when she was still Ice-Queen. Finn sometimes tied her up–more to prevent her clawing the shit out of him than anything else. Now Drew slipped her hands under Finn's shirt and raked her nails down his back hard enough to draw blood. Finn shoved his boner in deep again, and she could feel him shooting off inside her belly. That sent her crashing over the edge too. Biting his shoulder hard enough to draw blood, she had a violent orgasm.

As the two calmed down, Drew pulled his face to his and started kissing and necking with him. "It's alright, Finn," she whispered. "I know you don't mean to be this way." He sobbed into her shoulder. "You're a very sweet man," she told him. "I'm going to get rid of all those memories, all those awful thoughts. You're going to be alright." It was soothing, just like when she was putting him under. Her voice calmed him down. Finn stroked her back, his rough fingers against her soft skin sending shivers up her spine. "See," she whispered. "_That_ is the real Finn. The one who's touching me so nicely right now."

He was _expecting_ the damage when he let her down. Still, it wasn't nearly as bad as Emeraude had been. Seeing his expression, she made haste to comfort him, pointing out, "it's probably residual memories, sweet boy. Your session was pretty intense today. It may have triggered something." "Was it bad," he asked? Answering the question he was really asking, she said, "you had a breakthrough, sweetie. You're going to be just fine." Her voice was so soothing, it was easy to believe her. To his shock, she took out one of those lollipops and started licking it. Blushing, he murmured, "I guess I did ok after all." Laughing, she said, "you sure did, hero. Get going. I'll see you in a couple of days."

As Finn headed out towards the market to pick up some things for Simone, Marphisa came strolling out of the Candy Kingdom to find her sister and mother hanging out waiting for her. "Well," demanded Marjolaine? "He's married," said Marphisa. "She's having trouble convincing him to walk away." Rolling her eyes, Marphisa's younger sister said, "that little idiot is throwing away a perfect setup!" Their mother intervened then, reminding her, "this is Emeraude's catch, Marj! Let her do this her way!" "She's ruining it, momma," howled the younger woman!

The older sister rolled her eyes. She could easily see why her niece hated her own mother. Marjolaine would have gleefully just taken Emeraude's man away for herself. It wasn't the first the stupid git had done something like that. Marphisa wasn't about to see the younger woman dispossessed of what was _hers_. More to the point, this was Emeraude's chance to get away from the ugly world she'd been born into. Coolly, Marphisa reminded her sister, "he's got powerful friends, Marj. What do you suppose would happen if we just drugged him up and hauled him away?"

That finally stopped the younger woman. She spent a long, long while thinking about that. "Then we'll have to do away with this rival," growled Marjolaine. In her mind, it was as simple as that. Just do away with the problem. Never mind that the 'problem' was a person with a child of her own. There were days when Marphisa thought Marjolaine ought to have her own encounter with slavers. She honestly wondered if Emeraude would really go out of her way to rescue the bitch. By now Marj was walking away from the Candy Kingdom, headed west towards their forest. As she walked, she said, "I know some men. Gangsters. They could make short work of this wench..." Rolling her eyes, Marphisa set out after her.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

It was supposed to be his final session. He'd been slowly getting better. He was no longer awkward with Simone, and he'd even managed to satisfy her a few times already. Today's session was about restoring his spontaneity. His mission was to come down to Dr. Princess's office and 'surprise' her by jumping her bones. The young man was nervous as he approached the door to Dr. P's therapy room. Finding it cracked, he peeked inside. The good doctor was standing with her back to the door, looking at a chart. She wasn't wearing her lab-coat today, and he found himself getting a gander at her fantastic ass, clad in a tight sweater-dress.

That butt was big, bountiful, and perfectly shaped–almost as nice as Simone's or Bonnie's–and he quickly realized that she had a reason for always wearing lab-coats. Just like Bonnie had said, people got distracted by that bangin' body. _He_ was. She was a helluva' woman, and he couldn't really help thinking that, just like Bonnie, she didn't really have a need for a guy like him–stupid and clumsy. At the same time, the mission of the day was getting into her panties. Licking suddenly dry lips, he thought, _you can do this, Finn._ He'd done it before–six times in fact.

Thrusting the door open, the hero walked boldly inside. Before his doctor could register his presence, he walked up behind her, slipped his arms around her middle and whispered, "you have the most amazing butt, Doc..." Blushing a little at that praise, Dr. Princess chuckled, "so I'm told..." Finn grabbed a handful of her ass and said, "'zat why you wear labcoats all the time... Guys would totes be peepin' your bod..." "Why yes, dear boy," sighed the doctor. Not that she was much interested in talking about her little issue.

She'd be lieing if she said she didn't _like_ what she was getting from him. It was sort of the joy of the job. She got to fuck other women's husbands–and she got _paid_ for it. She got paid for something she liked doing a lot. Few were as good between the sheets as Finn, though. The boy was a natural at screwing! He was the best she'd had in a long time.

His lips teased at her throat as he held her close, grinding his hips against her ass. One hand caressed her hard, flat tummy, while the other continued to squeeze that big, juicy bottom. She could _feel_ his pecker against her, still soft. Slowly the hand on her stomach worked its way up, while the other hand slipped around to her front. She was almost _anxious_ for it now. Having had him a number of times already, a part of her was anxious to cut to the chase. She wanted to feel that big, _fat_ thing inside her. He was shockingly well-endowed. He'd left her sore a couple of times.

As his hand cupped her snatch, the sexy doctor moaned softly. Simone was a lucky woman. The doctor honestly couldn't help thinking that Princess Bubblegum was kind of a fool! She would have strung this horny toy-boy along until he was sixteen, then fucked the shit out of him on his birthday. The handsome hero ran his finger along her crack, teasing her, finding her panties were already a little damp. She'd been thinking about this appointment all morning. She'd picked a pair of transparent panties in red silk to wear today.

His other hand took up a languid caress of her left knocker, going in slow circles, squeezing gently. The nips were already standing proud of her big boobies, and she sighed as his fingertips brushed across the left one. Closing her eyes, she thought about the first time he'd taken her, and she imagined what it would have been like to be Princess of the Kingdom taking that big breeding-stick on his birthday–of taking his innocence. Her hips rubbed her hot gash against his hand as she got wetter and wetter. Then, with a stifled cry, she went over the edge, soaking the crotch of her silky undies in girl goo.

Sliding his hand up along her flat belly, Finn plunged those fingers down inside her panties and got skin-on-skin with her snatch. "Ooaaa," moaned the sexy therapist as she felt his fingers slide inside. Finn was a little hungry for this too, and he wasn't quite as gentle as usual. He slid his fingers in and out in manic fashion, almost juicing her. At the same time, his other hand squeezed her right tit, pinching the nipple with his thumb and forefinger. "Oooh, yes," whined the doctor. Her hips started wriggling around, and she started grinding that magnificent ass against his hardening cock. At the same time, she was rubbing her snatch against his hand, and her fingers were pinching his thighs. Moaning and whining, the hot doctor went over the edge again, having a noisy climax there in her office.

Finn pulled his hand out of her panties and started licking her juice off his fingers. The nasty boy wasn't shy about going down on her, and she thoroughly enjoyed it when he did. When he had licked his fingers clean, the young man grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head. Tossing it aside, he knelt and grabbed the waist of her panties, dragging them down to her ankles. Kneeling there, he rubbed his face against her ass and bit the hard muscle of her cheeks one after the other. "Enough playing, honey," murmured the doctor. Walking over to the couch, she pulled the lever that folded out the hidden bed. Turning to face him, she commanded, "strip!"

Finn set a record getting out of his pants and shirt, then shedding his boxers before rushing over to her. His fat dick joggled as he rushed across the room. "Mmm," moaned Dr. P, as she popped the front catch on her bra, letting those big knobs swing free. Drizzling a little spit on him, she knelt and engulfed his rod in her abundant cleavage and started rubbing those knockers up and down his dick. Bending down, she slurped his knob into her mouth and started sucking on that too, savoring the taste of his goo like it was a treat.

Finn moaned softly, and his hands clenched into fists. Drawing back, she gave his knob a lick and said, "you can run your fingers through my hair, sweetie..." Finn unfastened the twin pony tails and began sliding his fingers through her short brown locks. "Glob you're so pretty, doc," breathed the hero! She smiled up at him just before engulfing his rod again. "Oooh," groaned Finn. "You suck it so hard... I'm gonna'..." Those words made her suck all the harder. Finn let go, squirting his hot goo in her mouth. "Mmm," moaned the slutty physician around a mouthful of his stuff. Swallowing, she said, "that was nice. Ready for more?" Boy was he!

Dr. P got up on the bed on her hands and knees. Looking back over her shoulder, she gave him a 'come-hither' look. Jerking on that hard log, Finn climbed up behind her. Putting it up against her dripping gash, he eased it inside. Eyes closed, the sexy doctor moaned loudly as she pushed that lovely bottom back at him. Finn grabbed hold of her waist and started railing her. That was how Huntress found them.

Finn hadn't shut the door completely, and it slowly began to open. When Huntress walked into the doctor's little office, she _heard_ the sounds of a woman in full cry. She'd known that Simone was sending Finn here for _therapy_. She'd known about it, and she'd been torn between hope, fear, and anger. It was bad enough that she shared her boyfriend with that fucking white-haired bitch. To find out he was laying pipe in the doctor as _therapy_? That was driving her right up the wall, and it was the reason she'd come down here early. She wanted to see. She wanted to _know_ if Finn felt anything for this bitch.

"Oh," howled Dr. Princess! "Oooh, _shiiit_!" She could hear Finn's hips slapping into that meaty ass. Finn had his arms wrapped around her from behind, squeezing those big tits while he pounded that fat spike into her belly. Mind aflame with jealousy, the beautiful wood-nymph wanted nothing more than to burn that bitch alive. "Harder, baby," howled the sexy doctor! "Do it harder!" Sucking on her throat and squeezing those big knobs, Finn pounded his big dick into her snatch. Hot girl-goo spilled out all over their legs and the bed, filling the room with the scent of hot sex. As Huntress looked on in jealous rage, the two lovers went over the edge, both screaming as Finn shot his stuff into her.

The pair knelt there on the bed for several minutes after with Finn holding the older woman while he gently stroked her soft body. _Wow,_ thought the doctor. _No wonder Simone was anxious to get him back in the groove!_ That was, without a doubt, the best she'd ever had! It was almost a pity he was a patient. She might have been tempted to try stealing him away! "Mmm," sighed the doctor. "Well, we should get cleaned up."

They took their time, and Finn spent as much time watching Dr. Princess wriggle back into those tiny panties as getting his own clothes back on. The doctor made sure to put on a good show, and she had Finn wanting to jump on her again. He had to squeeze his little buddy back into his shorts when he was done. Amused, the doctor decided to toy with him a little more before sending him on his way.

Hips wiggling, she crossed the room to him. His eyes followed her jiggling boobies the whole way–which in no way helped his hard-on. "Did I do ok," asked Finn? He sounded so worried. Leaning towards him, the good doctor put her forehead to his and said, "you did wonderfully, Finn. Thanks." Blushing and grinning, he thanked her. Somehow he felt a lot better now. Giving him a peck on the cheek, she said, "you _are_ better, Finn. You're going to be just fine. Go on home and give that beautiful wife of yours a surprise." He practically _ran_ out of there, leaving the doctor laughing.

Out in the hall, the hero ran straight into Huntress–Evil-Wizard Huntress, in point of fact. Finn's face went red hot as he realized that she could well have heard him in the therapy room with Dr. Princess. He hadn't seen much of the wizard the last few days. After nearly murdering her and with all that was going on in his life, Finn had avoided being alone with her. Now he was face to face with her after screwing the shit out of another woman. Even knowing he was only doing this because of what that alien fucker had done to him, he was embarrassed. Before he could say a word, the wizard woman shoved past him and slammed the door. Knowing he wouldn't be able to talk to her while she was in this mood, Finn headed out.

Inside the room, Emeraude was confronting her latest problem. The doctor was in the process of folding up the hideaway bed in her couch. Glancing up, a fat orange-cream sucker stuck between her thin lips, Dr. Princess said, "you're kind of early." She'd wanted to shower before her next patient. Watching this bitch sucking on a lollipop with that flushed face and _satisfied_ expression, Huntress blew up, shouting, "if you don't want someone to see you be a whore, you shouldn't be a whore."

Dr. Princess looked up at her with a mixture of puzzlement and surprise. Calmly, she said, "I'm a licensed surrogate. What I do here is strictly for the patient's..." "You're just like every bitch on Ooo," growled the wizard! "You want to go for a ride on Finn the Human!" "I see," replied the doctor. She was still calm as anything in the face of the wizard's deadly rage. "So how long have you been carrying on this affair," asked Dr. Princess?

Huntress's mouth came open, as she stopped in mid rant. Cleaning her glasses, the doctor said, "as someone who gets to fuck married men for pay, believe me when I say I can tell." Sliding her glasses back on, the therapist said, "I have to assume the baby is his..." Huntress tottered there, stunned to her shoes, but the hits kept coming. "You _are_ pregnant," said the doctor. "Just a few weeks along. I'm guessing from your reaction that he doesn't know..." "No," muttered Huntress. Calmly the doctor said, "come and sit down on the couch. We'll talk." Getting some of her anger back, the wizard demanded, "about what?!" With a shrug, the good doctor said, "you're obviously in need of someone to talk to. You're in a vulnerable state, keeping up an affair with a married man, and now you're pregnant by him at the same time that his wife is also pregnant..."

That news hit the wizard like a punch to the gut. Her knees buckled, and the doctor had to grab her by the arm and steer her into a seat. "Let's get started," said the doctor, as she retrieved her notepad. Drew had been hinting to this woman for a while that she needed counseling too. From everything Finn had described, she'd gotten a severe thrashing and nearly lost her life at his hands. The half-healed injuries suggested things may have been worse.

"What made you decide to get pregnant," asked Drew? "Didn't," muttered Emeraude. Puzzled, the doctor asked, "didn't what?" Face hot, the wizard admitted, "I ran out of pills... I forgot to get renewed when I was in town. We were gone a while... Things... happened." Nodding, the pretty doctor wrote that down. "What are your intentions," she asked? Glaring, the wood-nymph demanded, "what do you mean?" With a shrug, Dr. P observed, "you _must_ be aware of the consequences of what you've been doing. You _are_ older than him..."

Nymphs, she knew, got started in their early teens. Most were jaded souls by the time they hit twenty. Finn had been her friend and patient a long time. He deserved better. This woman was jeopardizing his marriage and family.

"What business is it of yours," snarled Emeraude? Smiling Drusilla Princess said, "I'm not afraid of you. Why don't we quit posturing and talk? Hmm? You could probably find a hundred men who are richer than Finn. You could probably find a man to shower you in jewels." Defensively Huntress retorted, "got plenty of money! I don't need jewels..." And that was Drew's first inkling that this woman was something different. "I love him," Emeraude tearfully rumbled. As Drusilla Princess listened intently, the wizard explained just how she'd come to love Finn.

That led into a short but ugly exposé on the hard life the little woman had lived. As she got to hear all about how Emeraude Baudin got _introduced_ to sex and what she was expected to do with it, the doctor found pity taking the lead in her heart. It was clear listening to her that Emeraude did indeed 'have it bad'. It appeared lightning had struck Finn twice. This little woman was a veritable _mess_, and Drew could see how a man like Finn had won her heart.

"You've got some issues," opined the doctor. "I'm going to recommend therapy for you too. I also have some medical advice for you..." Emeraude nodded. Rising, Drew retrieved the wood-nymph's file. Returning to the room, she said, "you're not getting enough nutrition. I want you to eat more. I also want you to get more sunlight. Here's a prescription for a UV bed. Use it. You need more cellulose intake or you're going to have trouble with your bones. Salads. Eat some."

The dazed wizard swore that she would. Setting the file aside, Drew told her, "I'll write you a letter to take to Princess Bubblegum." Suspiciously, Huntress asked, "why?" Drew fixed the wizard with a hard stare and said, "you're pregnant. You don't need to be out there risking your life. You could lose your baby. With no-one to take care of you, you could even die." Emeraude countered that with, "and if I don't go, I'll lose my baby's father. Or do you really think those bitches will raise a finger to help Finn?"

Drew opened her mouth and shut it again just as quickly. She knew her patient was right. The proof was all over the hero's body. They were burning Finn up before her eyes, and nobody was lifting a finger to help him–nobody but this woman. With a heavy-hearted sigh, Drew muttered, "limit exertion. Ride in the truck as much as you can. Try and stay out of physical combat. I'll want to see you first thing you get back..." The wizard woman promised to do better. Right now, she needed to get home. She'd already been warned that they might have to leave again soon.

**So there's our latest drama-bomb. :) Now back to hunting aliens.**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31:

"Going to miss having use of this," opined Simone as Finn tossed his gear into the back of the truck. "I'm going to miss you," sighed Finn. The former sorceress blushed and smiled. He was back to himself–affectionate and loving. Having come so close to losing him, she didn't want to let him go. "Remember, babe," said Finn. "You can have stuff delivered if you need to. We've got the money." She wasn't excited about spending it. She wanted the kids to have the best of everything. And there were always emergencies. Leaning towards her, he kissed her sweet lips. Then he bent and kissed their darling little boy.

"Daddy," burbled Billy. Finn tousled his short locks affectionately. He even had a kiss for little Fionna. They weren't sure if it was a boy or girl, but Finn had sort of decided that he would assume girl until proven otherwise. It amused both of them to have a daughter named after the woman that Simon had been trying to conjure when he got Simone. Finn turned, climbed into the truck, and fired it up. With one last wave for his wife and son, he got on his way.

His mood took a little longer to evaporate this time. His smile lasted all the way across the grasslands as he thought about his little family and the fun he'd had with Simone playing games on Beemo and riding Billy around on his back last night. Finn had cooked up a feast in the fire-pit outside, and they'd sat watching the stars for a couple of hours before finally going up to bed. It was only when he caught sight of the palace, and his mind returned to his reason for coming here that his mood changed.

Bonnie had left him a message after he'd gone home yesterday. Simone had been waiting for him at the door with it–wearing an expression like it was killing her. He needed to get to the end of this. He needed to finish off his dad's dudes, get home, and get out of the business of going on the road. That would also go a long way towards shutting things down with Huntress too. He knew he was weak, but being here in town–and the risk of getting caught at something–helped him say no. He hoped that, if he said it enough, she would just get the hint and move on. He didn't want to hurt her. Crazy as it seemed, he was totes in love with her, but he couldn't give her what she really needed.

Leaving the truck at the gates, Finn went up into the palace and down to the office where Bonnie usually met with them. He found his eyes seeking out odd little details–things about the palace that related to bits of memory he had from this or that crazy event from the past. So wrapped up did he get that he completely lost track of his surroundings and almost ran right into the wizard-woman outside Bonnie's office.

As his eyes met hers, all the angst of the last few weeks came back in a rush. He'd tried to hurt her physically under the alien's control, and he'd inadvertently hurt her again with his therapy session with Dr. P. Honestly, after the way he'd last seen her–when he'd avoided being alone with her for _weeks_–he expected to be met with lightning.

He didn't get lightning, but he could definitely tell she was mad at him. He had a lot of things he would have said just then–all the usual stuff about his being married and her needing to find a guy worthy of her–but they didn't get the time to have that chat. As soon as he approached, the door was opened, revealing Breakfast Princess there in her usual attire. "C'mon in, Finn," said she. The pair went to step through the door, and shockingly BP groped Finn's boin loins as he passed her. Face red hot, Finn stammered, "what's up PB?"

Seeing the flushed look on his face, the Princess asked, "are you alright?" They had let him rest as long as they dared. With the news Wildberry had brought them yesterday, they needed Finn desperately. If he was still sick and unable to get back to work, they had a serious problem! Fortunately it seemed that it was just a case of him being startled by something. Regaining his composure, Finn replied, "yeah. I'm ok. Whatcha got?"

Bonnie replied, "following your information, scouts from the Wildberry Kingdom tracked the alien named Gorsh to a distant technology site. We believe he's actively working on a transceiver." Nodding Finn asked, "did we take him out?" "Our scouts can't effectively fight them, Finn," sighed Wildberry Princess. Finn blushed again, as he remembered how well the Banana Guards had fared. He hoped her people hadn't suffered badly against those guys. He would have felt bad for not being there to help them.

Returning to the thread at hand, Bonnie said, "we can get you, Huntress and Rattleballs within twenty miles of the site, Finn." Huntress muttered curses. Just three of them. "I've sent for my brother," announced Phoebe. "Provided the weather holds, he can help you." Finn flushed. He remembered Jake making him kind of act like a jerk in front of Phoebe's bro, and honestly he feared that Flint would be a little irritated at having to help the guy who broke his sister's heart. Still, he said nothing. This needed to get done, not just for Ooo but for his family.

"Ok, Peebles," said Finn. "We'll leave today." Just like that. Huntress would have punched him too. Unfortunately they didn't even have time for _that_. The dynamite duo left the princesses alone to deliberate courses of action. Outside, Finn was all business. Said he, "I got my stuff packed. I'll meet you at Bonnie's observatory." She looked for a moment like she would cuss him. Her antenna twitched, and her face darkened. Then, as if a storm had just blown over, she calmly said, "ok, baby, but we need to talk. Soon." Standing on her toes, she kissed him. Then she went prancing down the hall in the way that made her butt jiggle. Finn stared after her in shock for a long while. Then, terrified that she'd try to corner him alone, he waited her out, hoping she'd be gone when he got outside.

Shaking off his fear, he went out to the truck, only to find it gone. Knowing only one person in the kingdom would have dared take it, he found himself cursing his partner. It appeared he was walking. With one last shake of his head, he got on his way. As he walked, he found himself reflecting on the way his life was going. He and Simone had spent a great evening last night, and he was more grateful than ever to have her. At the same time, he was finding that Jake was right. The more stuff he did, the more famous he got. The more famous he got, the more girl-trouble he got. He couldn't help wondering if _Billy_ went through this.

He felt strangely _vulnerable_. He was a dude! He _liked_ girls. More to the point, he'd been friends with nearly all those girls for _years_. He felt like a jerk harshing on them, but he had Simone. He was spoken for! He didn't want to hurt anybody, but he couldn't hurt his lady. The young hero struggled to find a clever answer like the one he'd found for Jake, but he didn't have a list of studly guys to date all his girl-bros. Unfortunately, no other answers presented themselves, and he ended up giving up.

Finn walked up to the observatory to find a large, sleek ship sitting there. He was startled at first, and he couldn't help reaching for his sword in fear that some of his dad's _friends_ had come here. Calming himself, he took a better look at the fabulous object, finding that it was much less massive than the machine his dad had come in. It was a long cylinder in a deep orange color with long wings sticking out from either side near the top. Windows scattered along the side near the top scattered the morning sunlight, casting shadows and sparkles on the ground.

Finn found himself walking around it, running his hand along its cool metallic surface. Short, heavy struts jutted from a quartet of doors near the bottom, supporting the heavy machine, and giving it a bird-like aspect. As he examined the machine, he began to think that this wasn't a spaceship. It wasn't anything like his dad's ship at all. He became all but certain the machine was built here on Ooo, and now he thought that this must be the way Bonnie meant to carry Finn's team to hunt down the aliens.

_Maybe it has guns,_ thought the hero! That would totes be rad! Now he began to search for doors that could be concealing weapons like a kid hunting for birthday presents. He went around the ship tapping this, pulling on that, and looking in places he probably shouldn't. That was how Bonnie found him. "Having fun, hero," she teased. Blushing and grinning, he admitted, "ch'yeah, man..." She knew him well. He asked, "so when'd you build this, Peebles?" Running her hand along the side, she admitted, "I didn't. It belongs to Grid-Face Princess." "Wow," said Finn, "she must be almost as smart as you." Bonnie found herself blushing at that sincere praise, but that was why she loved Finn.

"Where's Huntress," asked Bonnie? Turning away from his examination of the flying machine, he replied, "grabbing her stuff. She took the truck. She should be here soon." Bonnie was surprisingly close. As he stared, she got closer still. Standing toe to toe with him, the beautiful princess smiled her dazzling smile. Finn flushed. He still loved her. "I want you to be careful, Finn," she murmured. Finn gave her a puzzled look. "Aren't you coming, PB," he asked? With a heavy sigh, Bonnie replied, "I'm afraid I can't go with you, Finn. Grid-Face Princess will be your host since this is so near her Kingdom."

Finn felt a momentary surge of fear at that news. After that strange encounter in Dr. P's office, the hero feared she was hitting on him. His fear must have showed on his face as Bonnie asked, "is something wrong, Finn?" Not wanting to worry her, Finn lied, "nah, Peebles. S'good..." "Good, hero," said the pink princess. Catching his face in her hands, she said, "always remember, Finn, that you're _my_ hero. Come back to me safe and sound." Then she gave him a kiss that left his lips smoking and his toes curled. As Finn stared in shock, Bonnie ran away. He was still staring when Huntress rolled up in the truck.

Seeing him standing there, looking like he'd seen a ghost, the wizard said, "you going to help, donk?" Snapping out of his daze, Finn moved forward and started emptying the truck. "This our ride," asked a skeptical Huntress? "Yeah," said Finn. "I think it flies..." "Of course it does," announced Grid-Face Princess. Both Finn and Emeraude turned to face her. She was dressed in the same skin-tight outfit as usual. The only difference was the jacket she now sported. "Nice jacket," rumbled Huntress. With a shrug, the tall princess retorted, "it's cold at 20,000 feet in the air."

Both Finn and the wizard goggled at her. This thing could fly that high? It was hard for Finn to imagine just how high that must be! Seeing them in the process of unloading the truck, the stacked princess waved her hand airily and said, "no need to unload all that. We'll be taking Bonnibel's crude conveyance with us. Unless you want to _walk_ twenty miles." Frowning the wood-nymph asked, "how? On that?"

The tall princess waved her hand, and a ramp lowered from the rear of the conveyance. "All aboard," said she, as she started up the ramp. "Cool," said the wizard, as she put the truck in gear. While Huntress was trying to ease the truck up the ramp, Rattleballs walked up. Finn greeted the war-machine with an excited, "Rattleballs! How you doin', buddy?!" The robot replied, "my systems are functioning nominally, Finn the Human." Chuckling, Finn replied in robotic tones, "my systems are functioning too, Rattler... Let's get going..."

Before Finn could reach the ramp, twin streaks of flame came down out of the sky like blazing comets. As Finn blinked his eyes from the surprising burst of light, Phoebe coalesced out of one of those bright streaks, and her brother, Flint, appeared from the other. "Phoebes," howled Finn excitedly! He would gleefully have hugged her if not for the fact that it would have burned him–and the ugly look her brother was giving him. Wearing a smile a mile wide, Phoebe instructed her brother, "Flint? Go and introduce yourself to Grid-Face Princess." The irritated elemental went stalking up the boarding ramp, leaving a trail of steam as he walked.

Turning away from his almost-brother-in-law, Finn found himself looking at his ex-girlfriend in a sexy strapless dress that struggled to contain her bountiful bouncing boobies. Her hair hung down her back in a long train of fiery twists and braids. As he ogled her, Phoebe stepped forward, whispering a spell. Momentarily, Finn found himself surrounded by a fire-shield spell. Then he had Phoebe's blazing body pressed against him. His mind went back to that moment they shared out near the sea of fire after destroying his dad's ship. Between those memories and the sight of her in that dress, he really couldn't help it. It was instant boner time.

Phoebe giggled, letting him know she could feel that. Lips inches from his ear, she whispered, "it's nice to know I can still have that effect on you." Finn chuckled. Yeah, she did that to him. "Be careful, Finn," she whispered. "I couldn't bear to lose you. You're still my best friend." Her lips brushed his as she stepped back. It was the most she could give him, and it had him ready to scream in frustration all over again in spite of the fact that he was married. "Bye, Finn," said she, and then she soared into the sky again, bound for home.

Huntress was standing there at the top of the ramp, looking pissed when Finn came up. Haunted by those strange, unquenchable feelings, the hero walked right past her, his face a mask of sadness. Antenna twitching, the wizard, demanded, "what was that about?" "She was saying goodbye," muttered Finn, as he stopped at the truck. His eyes fell on the jacket she'd given him. He could feel the fire-shield spell wearing off, but the memory of her scent remained. "You can't touch her," growled the wizard.

Those words–and the plaintive tone of their delivery–told Finn something was off. When he turned to face her, he found her staring back at him with tears in her eyes and a look of fear on her face. He knew then what was bothering her, just as he knew what he had to do. This wasn't the best time, and he knew there was a real risk this would bring problems for the mission, but he had to get this said. "E," said he. "I... We need to stop doing this." "What're you saying," demanded the wizard?

Waving his arms, Finn said, "we can't keep doing this. I... you need to move on. I can't be your guy. I'm..." "What," demanded Huntress? "You're breaking up with me?" Finn glanced away. "I don't want you hurt," replied the hero. "I'm married. You know how this has to end. The longer it goes on, the more damage it's doing to you." "Oh, I get it," growled the wizard. "You're dumping me to protect me!" Reaching back, she slapped him across the face hard enough that he was sure she left a mark. Without a further word, she stormed off, headed towards the front end of the aircraft. Knowing that she needed to cool off, Finn stayed right where he was. He'd needed to get that said. Now they could focus on the mission ahead of them.

Momentarily, the ramp retracted into the hull of the ship, and Finn felt motion that suggested they were moving. Jumping out of the seat, he rushed to one of the windows in time to see the ground receding behind them. A loudspeaker announced, "Finn? Can you come to the cockpit?" Finn wasn't sure just what that was, but he guessed it was at the front since he was way back in the back.

The hero headed forward until he reached a spiraling staircase. Grasping the rail, he began to climb. What he found astonished him. While the back half of the strange machine was a big, open space, the front was outfitted like a small home. Finn found himself passing tiny bedrooms and a little kitchen that actually held a fridge! He was amazed. It was a lot nicer than Peebles's truck!

Up at the end of the narrow passage, he spotted Flint loafing outside a door. Walking up to the door, he found Huntress inside watching as Grid-Face Princess readied the giant flying machine to lift off. Turning towards him, she said, "come and watch, Finn..." Eagerly Finn came forward, stepping up alongside Huntress. Looking out the window, he could see that the front of the ship sloped away sharply, letting him see that they were hundreds of feet up already, wafting along. Looking down at the ground, he could see the fields around the Candy Kingdom, with tiny candy-citizens working away to grow the food that would support Bonnie's peeps. Watching that scene go by, all Finn could say was, "_wow_!"

"Have a seat," instructed the stacked princess. Finn hurriedly sat himself in the chair beside her. Pulling back on the control lever she was holding, the princess caused the ship to climb into the sky. Finn could feel a tremendous force pushing him back in his seat. His eyes went wide, and his lips split in a grin. This was _awesome_! This was far higher than he'd ever been before. He hadn't even been this high with the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant! When the tall princess finally eased that lever forward, all there was to see was blue sky. The ground was so far beneath them that he couldn't make out any details at all–just a sea of green and brown.

The hero had a hundred questions. Turning to his left, he opened his mouth to start asking some of them and got cut off as Huntress turned and walked back down the hall towards the stairs. His heart sank as he thought about the unpleasant situation he was in, and suddenly he didn't really feel like talking about flying machines anymore. "Thanks, GP," said he. Rising, he headed for the back too. He wasn't sure there was anything to say, but he wasn't sure he wanted to really spend time talking with another girl after dumping on E like that. Questions could wait. Maybe he'd manage to get her to understand. He still hoped they could be friends.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32:

The strange craft flew for more than eight hours across the sky. Finn had hardly expected it to take so long considering that he and Huntress had gone seemingly all across the world in Bonnie's beat-up old truck. He hadn't had any idea that the world was so _big_. Grid-Face Princess hadn't been lieing when she told him it was cold at 20,000 feet. The air in the back of the plane quickly became frigid, and Finn found himself dragging out the sweater that Bonnie gave him along with the jacket she and Phoebe had made. As he went to wrap the coat around himself, his eyes fell on his former girlfriend. She was shivering.

Rising, Finn went across to her and tried to wrap the jacket around her shoulders, but she pushed him away. Without a word, Finn dropped the jacket there on the deck, went back to his place, and buckled himself back into his seat. It was a long, long while before she picked that coat up. Finn did his best not to look at her–to pretend that he was comfortable with this situation. Inside, he was seething. It wasn't as though he could turn off his heart! He still loved her. He still feared for her health and safety. So he found himself letting out a relieved breath when she finally picked up his jacket and put it on.

As the hours dragged by, Finn found his mind wandering. He was in a bind, and he knew it. How was he going to swing this? It was obvious that if he was hung up on all his old flames, the opposite was equally true. Bonnie and Phoebe still had a thing for him, and that was very dangerous. When you added in all the other girls who'd developed an interest in him, it was a threat to his whole life. Was he going to cut himself off from all his friends? He couldn't have done it if he tried! They were his _bros_! They were the people who'd had his back for half his life!

Of course, if Bonnie and Phoebe still had feelings for him, what did that say about E. They'd... they'd gone much farther than Finn had ever gone with Bonnie or Phoebe. Would she be able to let go? He'd seen how she became when she thought he was ignoring or insulting her beauty. What would she do with him breaking up with her? Would she be forever trying to get him back?! The possible answers to that question terririfed him.

The only good news was that at least Wildberry and Slime Princess didn't look like walking heart-attacks. It was a lot easier for him to dodge their advances! He would be really screwed if he had to deal with the pair of them too. Much like Phoebe, there was no 'there' there. As his overwrought mind formed that thought, sleep finally tugged him under. The last thing he saw was Huntress, staring back at him, and then he was under.

A hand pushing at his shoulder woke him. Finn sat up with a start, finding the strange vehicle lit in a reddish light. Rattleballs was standing before him, carrying what looked like a pair of those alien guns next to his sword. "We have stopped, Finn the Human," said the battle-droid. Finn unbuckled himself. Huntress was gone from her place across from him, and his jacket lay on the seat. It was a lot warmer now. Rising, Finn went and retrieved the strange armored jacket that Bonnie and Phoebe had made for him. As he slid it on, he asked, "what's going on? Have we arrived at the transmitter?"

Grid-Face Princess replied, "no. There has been an attack on one of the outlying towns in my kingdom." She was standing at the head of the stairs that led up to the control room. Just now she sported a belt and harness arrangement that carried an array of gadgets that would have made Bonnie proud. Standing there, hips cocked to one side–knobs jutting out in front of her like battering rams–she was sexy as hell in a strange, scientific sort of way. Said she, "I had to divert to investigate. I'm hoping it's nothing serious. If we can get this straightened out, we can get back on our way."

Turning for the ramp, Finn said, "let's get at it." "I landed short," said the stacked princess. "You'll have to drive us." "Sure, man," said Finn, as he climbed into the truck. With Rattleballs helping him, he got it steered back down the ramp without smashing anything vital. Outside, he found Huntress staring off into the distance. His heart lurched as he took in the miserable state she was in. He wanted to go to her. He missed her already, and he was worried about her state of mind. As Finn exited the truck, Flint came out of the sky with a burst of orange flame. "Mutants," rumbled the elemental. "The village is being raided by them."

"Should be no problem, then," said Finn. Flint gave him an irritated look and said, "this doesn't concern us. We need to find those aliens." He was just as emotional as his sister, though he controlled it a bit better. He wanted only to avenge the deaths of so many of his people, and he didn't really care about much else. Calmly, Finn reminded him, "if we don't help Grid-Face Princess, how do we expect her to help us?" The elemental glanced to their host, who said not a word. "Alright," he muttered, as he took off again. Rolling his eyes, Finn said, "saddle up, everybody."

As the hero climbed into the cab, Huntress surprised him by climbing into the bed of the truck with Rattleballs. Finn stared at her for a moment. Then, as he realized that this was an essential step to getting out of his current nightmare, he shrugged and shut the cab door. Grid-Face Princess got in beside him, shutting the door. After Finn started the engine and put the truck in gear, she surprised him by taking his free hand. As his foot touched the pedal, a shock of cold fear went through him at this confirmation of all his fears.

They drove for several long miles across the landscape. Grid-Face Princess's homeland was wild, with twisted trees scattered here and there and rough, patchy grass in strange vibrant hues of red and purple and blue. The sun was well down in the sky, and darkness was coming on fast. That made Finn a little nervous. Mutants could be more dangerous after dark, especially goo-bros. If they were facing goo-bros, they could be in a lot of trouble.

Turning to the woman at his side, Finn asked, "what your people got for weapons, Princess?" Glancing away, she admitted, "we typically don't have weapons, Finn. We're a peaceful folk. We developed our defenses so that we wouldn't need them." Finn now wished he'd asked Flint for details on what he'd seen. He was afraid just now. "Do mutants attack a lot," he asked? "Not usually," said the Princess. "They'll try for one of my people if they're alone, but they haven't gone to a town in many years. I think it's been at least a century." Finn's fingers tightened up on the wheel. Something wasn't right here.

Finn drew up short–just a scant half-mile down the road from the town. The sun was dropping fast now. Hopping out of the truck, he turned to his little team and said, "we're going to slip up and take a good look first. I want to see what we're dealing with." After seeing what goo-bros could do to you, he didn't want to risk getting everybody hosed. "Wait here, GP," said Finn. "Don't be silly," retorted the Princess. "While I don't keep weapons, I'm not _helpless_!" Rolling her eyes, Huntress growled, "suit yourself." With no further word, the wizard stalked off towards town. Over her shoulder, she announced, "coming Rattleballs." Finn sighed heavily. It was going to be a _long_ trip.

The trip into town took twenty minutes of jogging. Finn made them take their time in spite of Grid-Face Princess's increasing uneasiness and impatience. They passed through fields that had been undergoing harvest and well-maintained roads that suggested GP's people were as skilled as Bonnie's. Honestly, Finn thought they might be more so. As they approached the edge of town, the Princess stopped them. At Finn's questioning look, she announced, "something's wrong... For an attack of this scale in daylight, they would have deployed their forcefield." The town's forcefield was big enough to shelter the entire community. They should have encountered it by now.

Now Finn was _really_ worried. "What kinds of tech do your people keep in their villages," asked Finn? With a shrug, she admitted, "we have many things that have been forgotten by most of Ooo." "Anything the aliens could use," asked Huntress? She saw exactly where the donk was going with that question. She couldn't see how the brain missed it. In her paranoid world, a sudden attack after a century of peace was no coincidence. The aliens were in this area, and these people were messing around with tech and had no way to defend themselves. Uneasily, the Princess admitted, "many things. Everything from our forcefields to the holo-projectors people keep in their homes."

"Alright," said Finn. "Let's go. Princess and Huntress in back. Rattleballs? Up front with me." He silently wished he had a way to contact Phoebe's brother. That was a problem for another time. They would have to figure something out for next time. In the now, the hero drew the Finn-Sword and stepped off. Falling in behind him, Grid-Face Princess asked, "why the back?" With a heavy sigh, the wood-nymph offered a two-word explanation, "meat-shield..." Her on-again, off-again boyfriend was preparing to protect their bodies with his. And she still didn't like it.

The little group carefully made their way into the center of the town, finding the place overrun with goo-bros. They were on every corner, milling about in all their stomach-churning glory. Worse, there were signs that they might have devoured some of the Princess's people. Stopping next to the lower torso of a humanoid, Grid-Face Princess grimly murmured, "this was a town guard." His jump-suit looked the same as any of the others, and Huntress said so. Pointing at the waistband of his jumpsuit, the Princess explained, "it's the checkering on the arms, waist, and legs. She plucked a device from his belt and examined it. "His projector is almost fully charged," she rumbled. "Why's that matter," asked Finn?

For answer, she aimed the device at a distant goo-bro and triggered it. As the others stared, the device fired a strange, glowing bubble at the mutant, encapsulating him. "Whoa," breathed Huntress. Finn asked, "can he breathe in there?" The wizard looked at him like he was crazy and asked, "why's that matter?" "Because we might run into aliens carrying those things," retorted Finn. Grid-Face Princess replied, "the bubble should be permeable to air. It's used to apprehend, not kill..." The wood-nymph snorted. The donk was right. Anything could be used to kill. It just took somebody smart enough to figure it out and evil enough to put the knowledge to use. Their alien friends were both those things. Shaking off the worry, Finn said, "let's get at it."

The concentration of mutants grew and grew the deeper they went into the town. Finn grew more and more uneasy. There was something wrong here, and it wasn't just that the goo-bros weren't attacking them. They found more and more corpses in various stages of dismemberment. Some lacked arms. Some lacked legs. Nearly all lacked heads, and some seemed to have had their torsos literally exploded from within. The town was a churned up mess, and it was clear to Finn that GP's peeps had lost this one. Badly.

Still, nothing truly happened that he wasn't expecting, and the goo-bros seemed content to screw around and stare. They were nothing like the fierce creatures he'd fought twice for Bonnie. Finn was thinking of calling it a tragic accident–maybe GP's peeps got surprised or something–as they rounded a corner and found the town hall straight ahead. As the party approached the center of town, the milling goo-guys suddenly turned and attacked. As Finn and Rattleballs moved to block them, Huntress pushed the Princess behind her. Wielding her magic, the wizard laid into the zombie's blasting the ones in back asunder as Finn and the robot dealt with the ones close in.

It said something about just how long they'd been together–how long they'd been doing this–that, in spite of Finn's hard words earlier, he and Huntress quickly found a rhythm. Spinning and turning again and again, Finn moved to block the awful goo-creatures as they rushed at he and his companions in waves. Timing her strikes just right, Huntress smashed packs of caustic goo mutants, flattening them with spell-arrows or blasting them apart with lightning. Still, the goo-guys came on and on, hitting them in waves.

"My turn," announced Grid-Face Princess. Flicking a switch on her belt, she sketched a wall with the tip of her finger, and just like that, a glowing pink forcefield appeared, blocking the goo-bros approach, preventing them from attacking. "Nice," rumbled Huntress. "But that just leaves us trapped..." "It's semi-permeable, dear," retorted Grid-Face Princess. Nodding a the spell-arrow the wizard held, she said, "try it." Uncertainly, the wizard glanced to Finn. The arrow could flatten _them_ if she lit it off inside the barrier. Finn said, "got nothin' to lose, E. We're boned if we can't get out of here."

With a sigh, the wizard tossed the arrow into the air, charging it as she did so. Then, with a stab of her finger, she sent it hurtling at the nearest concentration of mutants. The arrow sailed straight and true through the barrier, causing no more than a ripple as it passed through. And then it slammed into the mutants with devastating force. "Hmm," said the wizard. "The barrier did slow it a little..." She glanced to the princess, who shrugged. Beggars couldn't be choosers. "Find us a way out, Finn," replied the wizard, as she got to grips with their assailants. She'd have to make more arrows after this, but at least they'd be alive.

Finn led the way through the town, looping back out towards where they'd left the truck. Along the way, Huntress destroyed piles of goo-bros. Then, as she ran out of arrows and grew too tired for lightning, Rattleballs stepped up and lit into the closest mutants with one of the blaster-guns Bonnie had installed. "Heh-heh," chuckled Finn! "Wow, Rattles! Super-mondo-cool!" The wizard rolled her eyes. _Donk,_ she thought, but she loved him anyway.

They were approaching the edge of town, and the truck was in sight now. Finn almost wanted to run. He would gleefully have run down, jumped in the truck and gotten it started, then rushed back to save his friends. He knew better, though. The goo-bros mobbed deep, and they could pig-pile on you before you even realized they were there. _Keep it tight,_ he thought. _Just a little longer..._

The distance came down. A hundred yards. Then a fifty. Then it was a hundred _feet_. Finn thought they had a chance to get out of this. And that's when the blaster-bolt came out of nowhere, slamming into Grid-Face Princess's shield–and then into the Princess herself. One moment, they were bantering about something inane. The next, the Princess was falling, and her forcefield with her.

And that's when the goo-bros charged.

**Cliffhanger... :)**


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33:

The first goo-guy was in Finn's face in three strides. The Finn sword minced him like he was nothing. The second piled up behind the first, and Finn cut his legs out from under him. Spinning to his left, he sliced the one trying for Huntress in half. Rattleballs mirrored him, lashing out with the guns he had attached to his shoulders and then with the sword when they started to overheat. Still, the mutants kept coming. _Not good, Finn,_ thought the hero. _Not good._ They couldn't leave. He wasn't sure if Grid-Face Princess was alive or dead, and he wasn't going to leave her.

"E," shouted the hero?! "Can you reach the truck?" "Got zombies in the way, donk," shouted the wizard! "Rattleballs," shouted Finn! The robot warrior grabbed the wizard by the belt and hurled her bodily over the packed-in mass of zombies. The wizard went sailing out over the monsters, wondering if this was at all good for the baby. _Nope, Emeraude,_ she thought. _Not good at all._ Summoning the last bit of strength she had, she used a spell to latch onto a handy lamp-post. Swinging around the lamp, the wizard twisted her body and threw herself up onto a handy roof. That had worked far better than she had a right to hope. Finn sighed his relief. She was safe. If she could get to the truck, she could get clear, even if he and Rattleballs didn't make it.

_Hang on, Finn,_ thought the wizard, as she went running along the roof. Reaching the edge, she jumped to the next roof, sliding along the slick surface until she could get her feet under her again. From rooftop to rooftop the wood-nymph warrior ran as fast as she could. She wasn't supposed to do this. _But what choice do we have,_ thought the wizard! It was time they got out of this business. She was going to find a way to put an end to all of this. Then they were going to go away.

Even if she had to fucking stuff Finn's mouth full of Grey Morrigans.

Reaching the last house at the edge of town, she found herself faced with a few dozen goo-bros, all milling around the truck. Finn was right. Something didn't add up here. The goo-guys had never been interested in the truck before–not while it was stationary. Was someone controlling them? It fit. It explained why the zombies did nothing while they wandered the entirety of the town. _So how much have you got left, Emeraude,_ the wizard thought? Did she have it in her to get to the truck?

Meanwhile, Finn and Rattleballs were still tucked in tight around Grid-Face Princess, slicing and dicing the strange zombies from the wastelands. _Do these guys _ever_ give up,_ thought Finn?! Strangely enough, the sword was keeping him in the game, blocking the zombies as effectively as it blocked the aliens' lasers. Unfortunately there were so many coming, that they really only had to just pile up on him, and he'd be done. He wasn't sure why they hadn't done that already.

Just then a bolt of fire came raining down from the sky, blasting several of the creatures to pieces. Finn glanced up to see Flint soaring high overhead. The elemental laid down a barrage of fiery blasts, surrounding Finn and Rattleballs in a ring of fire. That gave the two heroes a bit of breathing room. Finn quickly finished off the remaining zombies inside the ring of fire. Minutes after that, the truck came barreling through the ring and skidded to a halt with Huntress behind the wheel. "Get the Princess, Finn the Human," said Rattleballs, as he took up a defensive position near the rear of the truck. Tucking his sword away, Finn snatched up the princess's limp form and jumped into the bed of the truck.

Now Rattleballs clambered up onto the truck as the elemental rained fire on the monsters from above. Slamming the truck into gear, Huntress peeled out, roaring down the street. Taking the corner on two wheels, she looped back, headed for the ship and safety. Rattleballs stood up over the roof of the truck and blasted any of the goo-bros who tried to get in the way, spoiling their attempts to cut the team off. Smashing through one last group of zombies, the team roared out onto the road and tore off into the night.

The wizard raced across the fields with no real idea what they would find when they reached the ship. She knew Bonnie's truck would run literally for _years_ if they needed it to, but she wanted to be back on cow-tit's ship, flying back towards the Candy Kingdom. Only trouble was that neither she nor Finn knew how to operate the damned thing. She had more than a hunch that it was a lot more complicated than the truck! _Maybe the damned robot,_ thought the wizard. Rattleballs was one of Bonnie's creations. It was possible that he could figure it out–or maybe just plug in somehow.

Swooping down low over the truck, the elemental shouted, "they've stopped chasing! You can slow down!" Huntress cussed him. She would have shot him if she had any arrows left. He'd fucking abandoned them! She felt like some of this was _his_ fault! Instead of slowing down, she actually pushed her foot to the floor, causing the truck to jump and bounce over every little rut until Finn was screaming at her to slow down before she threw them out of the bed. That got through to her. Terrified of losing her man, the wizard brought the vehicle to a screeching halt.

When the truck stopped, the wizard jumped out of the cab and rushed back to see if he was alright. Finn wanted to scream at her, but the look on her face told him that she was having enough trouble as it was right now. Taking deep breaths, he calmed himself down. Turning to his beautiful partner, he asked, "you ok?" Glancing away–she was still mad as hell at him–she muttered, "fine." Finn turned to Rattleballs and asked, "you ok?" The war-machine replied, "my systems are functioning nominally. My power core is somewhat drained from using my new weapon-systems." They needed to get him plugged in.

Finn turned his attention to the princess. Putting an ear to her chest, he listened to her heartbeat, finding it was a little weak but regular. "Let's get back to the ship," said Finn. "E? You look after the princess. I'll drive." The team piled back into the truck and got on their way. Finn was a lot more careful going across the bumps. With just the new moon and the stars for light, it would have been easy to miss a rock or tree in the dark and hit something really hard, which would have destroyed their ride. Right now, with the princess down for the count, the truck was all they had.

The ship was right where they'd left it when Finn pulled up to the ramp. He wasn't sure if there were goo-bros or aliens inside, so he parked short and got out to walk. "Y-you're not just gonna' go in there," stammered Huntress? Finn shrugged. Somebody had to. The wizard choked back what she was going to say. Finn was already halfway to the ramp. Flint came down out of the sky and landed next to the truck, announcing, "the aliens have gone... They're headed east." "Where the fuck where _you_," demanded the angry wizard? The hotheaded elemental shot back, "I'm a _prince_! Who're you to...?"

"Huntress is right, Flint," said Finn, as he came back down the ramp. "Where the fuck were you, man? We almost got creamed and Grid-Face Princess with us." The soldier muttered, "I... was following something strange I saw... It was only when they opened fire that I realized that it was the creatures we seek..." Frowning, Finn said, "you saw them?" Nodding, the elemental replied, "I did. I realized then that this wasn't what it seemed. I had thought it was just a waste of time..." "You should have come back and warned us," interrupted Finn. The elemental stared at him as if he was crazy. Jabbing a finger in his face, Finn said, "we're in this together."

Turning to his friends, Finn said, "they can control the goo-bros..." Emeraude nodded. It fit. "Their numbers _are_ pretty depleted now," said she. "I believe you are correct, Finn the Human," declared Rattleballs. To the wizard, Finn said, "those guys just stood there. They stood there until we got to the exact center of town. They let us walk right on by. I've _never_ seen them do that before." Huntress glanced back towards the town. The donk was right again. For a dummy, he was making a habit of that. "But why did they come here," rumbled the wizard? "I know there's the tech the village had, but was there something in particular they wanted? Something that would get them their transmitter faster?" Nodding, Finn replied, "has to be. If we could search the village, I'm sure we'd find something missing." "I believe you would need the princess for that," said Flint. "None of us is familiar with these machines..."

Just then, the Princess sat up with a painful groan. "What did I miss," she moaned? Finn told her to lay back. "You been shot, man," said Finn. "That explains the pain in my back," muttered the egghead. "My shield took the brunt of it, I think..." Or she'd be thoroughly dead. "Do you have any medicine on your ship," asked the wizard? "Get me to the medical bay," said the Princess. "I can do the rest..." A contrite Flint announced, "I'm'a go see if I can track the aliens." With a couple of backwards glances, he moved away from them. Then, as Finn watched, he took off.

The hero couldn't help but wonder how much of his stubbornness was typical fire-elemental arrogance and hostility and how much was personal animosity towards Finn himself. It seemed like Flint wanted to be anywhere but near his sister's old boyfriend. When he'd gone, Finn said, "let's take a look at this wound." The hero swept the princess up in his arms. For a wonder, Huntress didn't snap at him.

Finn went up the ramp and into the ship. With Grid-Face Princess giving him directions, he made his way forward and into the lowest of the strange ship's three decks. At the very front of the ship, in front of a grand viewing port that would have offered a stunning view from twenty-thousand feet in the air, Finn found a tiny little hospital. The hero walked in and set his burden down on the table in the center of the room.

Finn tried to roll her on her belly, but the enigmatic princess tried to dodge away. Seizing her by the arm, the hero held her still, saying, "hold still. You're making this more difficult than it needs to be..." With a heavy sigh, the Princess said, "you're not the one with the big knockers. It's not exactly easy laying down on my stomach..." Finn blushed to the roots of his hair, but then he vaguely remembered Simone saying something similar.

Unzipping the back of her jumpsuit, he pealed it back, exposing her pale orange skin, finding that she had flawless skin like Simone's. He imagined that she didn't have the miles on her that he and E did. It was a little more difficult than he expected getting access to the wound. The jumpsuit she was wearing was so tight, it was like peeling a banana trying to get her out of it–especially without touching her too much or getting an eyeful of those huge boobies. As he worked, she said, "you don't have to do this. The machines can..." Finn shushed her.

The beautiful Princess couldn't help a shiver of desire at the feel of his hands against her bare skin. They were every bit as rough and work-hardened as she'd expected. Part of her wished he wouldn't glance away, but he seemed bound and determined not to look too closely at her. She felt a little bit of fear as she slipped her arms out of the sleeves of her suit, but this was a question she had to get answered.

When she was laying on her stomach again with her jumpsuit pulled down to her waist, Finn once again turned his attention to her back. He had to peel the suit down a little lower–down to the beginnings of her gloriously big butt–but he finally got a good look at her injury. He was astonished to realize that what he'd guessed was a minor wound was actually a deep crater–with wires poking out from her insides.

She could tell by the change in his voice that he could see what she'd been so worried about hiding. It was always a risk when someone from outside her kingdom saw one of her folk injured. Back in the town, they had been moving too quickly for any of her companions to really look closely at the corpses they came across, and the mutants had done such damage that it would have been easy to overlook the _differences_.

As he calmly probed the edges of her wound, he remarked, "so you're a robot..." "No," replied the Princess. "I'm a cyborg. We're born the same way you are. When we come of age at seven, we receive our first implants." She was like Beemo's dad! "Cool," whistled Finn! Shocked by that reaction, she turned and stared at him, almost giving him an eyeful of those titanic titties. Blushing, Finn said, "unless it's not cool." It was sooo hard to read her when she was wearing that mask. In a sweet tone, the stacked Princess replied, "it's _very_ cool." As Finn listened in fascination, she told him all about the strange tech that filled her body. Of course that led to an unpleasant reality. Now he understood the raid. The Grid-People were a big, fat _target_ for this Gorsh guy.

Taking charge once more, Grid-Face Princess said, "the machines in this chamber can take care of me, Finn. You go and find out what you can..." "Ok," said Finn. Turning to go, he said, "that's totes cool, Princess!" The beautiful woman chuckled. Reaching out, she tapped some controls on the side of the bed. As Finn left the room, he caught a glimpse of robotic arms coming down from the ceiling. A strange thought intruded, and he wondered if she were going to take herself apart or something. Shaking it off, Finn went back outside and down the ramp to find Flint had returned.

"They're gone," sighed the elemental. "They moved damned fast. I can see the way they went, but I didn't want to chase too far..." His eyes flicked to Finn as if in fear of the hero's reaction. "Better to have you here with us," said Finn. "We know which way they went," rumbled Huntress. "If we can get some information out of the Princess, we may be able to figure out what they're up to." Finn headed for the truck, saying, "I'm'a go into town and look around..." He had a hunch to play. "Flint," said he? "You got enough strength to fly a little longer?" The elemental allowed that he did. "Fly cover," said the human as he climbed into the truck. "E? You and Rattleballs get inside the ship and shut the ramp. If there's goo-bros around, it'll take a while for them to get at you. Rest up. We might need you."

Finn was more than a little keyed up when he returned. He'd spent the entire trip into town and back watching over his shoulder and staring at every shadow. Now that he knew the aliens were involved here–and that they had the power to control the goo-guys somehow–he was worried. He was worried for E and the Princess and even Rattleballs. And those were just his immediate worries. When he thought about what this Gorsh could do with an army of goo-bros... It left the young hero terrified.

Flint had been gracious enough to stay close the entire time–even dropping down low when Finn got out of the truck a couple of times to look into some of the houses. Finn guessed that he realized he'd fucked up. He could only hope Phoebe's bro was more afraid of embarrassing his sister than upset with Finn. As Finn put the truck in park and got out, the elemental dropped from the sky. "Long gone," said he. "Nothing out there for as far as I could see." "They move fast," muttered Finn. He meant the goo-bros. He was far more worried about the aliens. They weren't zombies, and he knew they had to get tired. How were _they_ moving so fast? Had they found a vehicle of some kind?

The ramp dropped open, and Huntress came down, sans cloak and mask. "The Princess is ok," said she. She stopped several feet from him, keeping her distance. Her face was unreadable, and the hero found himself feeling guilty all over again. He shouldn't have gone down this road with her. He shouldn't have let her tempt him like that. He wanted to ask if she was alright, but he knew the can of worms that would open. "Let's go see her," said Finn, as he brushed past his ex-girlfriend. The wizard came very close to belting him. Flint hesitated a moment before following. There appeared to be no threat right now, and he was a little cold out here.

They found the Princess in the largest of the rooms on the second level, sitting in front of a desk, looking at something. She had shed the jumpsuit, and now she wore a diaphanous gown in orange that barely hid her beautiful body from view. Leaving her arms bare under transparent silk sleeves, it covered her massive chest, while still leaving her midriff bare. She was fucking hot, and Finn's mouth went dry at the sight of her. The only oddity was that she still wore that mask, making him wonder what she looked like underneath. Did she have some weird robot-head or something? Inquiring Finn's wanted to know.

"It's not good, Princess," said he. "I don't think there's any survivors..." The tall beauty hung her head in misery. She'd known about the adults. She'd tapped into the local security grid and checked on their transponders. There were no vital signs to speak of from anybody older than seven. She'd still hoped the children had survived. There were five-hundred souls in that village counting infants and the young.

Straightening, she said, "we need to plan our next move... Finn... What did you see?" This was going to be gruesome. His expression told Emeraude that he was greatly troubled by what he'd seen in the town. Something upset him more than what they'd already seen, when that was plenty bad already. "Tell me, Finn," said she. "I... I need to know." "They cut off their heads," sighed Finn. "I..." He paused, and the wood-nymph just _knew_ he was thinking about Imgwesh and what had already happened to him. He was seeing awful things in his mind, and it was bothering him. A lot. Stepping forward, the wizard laid a hand on his shoulder, and that seemed to calm him.

"They cut off their heads," sighed Finn. "They... It almost looked like they were combing through bodies, cutting them open and... looking for stuff..." The princess's hands clenched into fists, and Finn knew what this was doing to her. He'd felt it. They'd even done it to the children. Still, he needed to know the meaning of what he'd seen. "They... It looks like they took all the heads they cut off," said he. "I... I don't understand why they would do that..." It almost sounded like a question. It was in Emeraude's mind.

"Computing power," sighed Grid-Face Princess. Which wasn't the answer anyone was really expecting. In truth, Finn didn't understand it at all. Looking up at him, she said, "the brain is a fantastic computing-device, Finn. It would take hundreds of machines like the ones that operate this aircraft to equal the power of one human brain. I've only seen a handful of machines that could manage it. The only limitation your mind has is it's ability to manage data and process multiple threads at once..."

Finn found his eyes starting to glaze over. Sciency stuff did that to him. Fortunately Huntress was there to give him a rather painful pinch in the love-handles to keep him awake. Grid-Face Princess sighed heavily. Cutting to the chase, she explained, "we enhanced our brains, Finn. We used technology to make up for the shortcomings of the human brain..." "...making a hybrid with the strengths of a machine and a human both," rumbled the wizard. She saw what the tall woman was trying to say.

"So now Gorsh has hundreds of these brain-computers," rumbled Finn. His voice told that he didn't understand the science, but he could see what it could be used for. Bonnie had explained that she could barely give his dad a few moments to transmit a message. If Gorsh had dozens of brain-computers to help him, he might be able to figure out a better way to build his transmitter. They had an even-bigger problem than before.

Nor were the other implications lost on their host. He was starting to be able to read her body-language a bit, and he could tell from the way she sat that she was very troubled by all of this. "I need to think," she announced. Flint turned and walked back out. Huntress and Rattleballs weren't far behind him. "I'm there if you need to talk, GP...," said Finn. Then he too turned and walked out.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34:

Grid-Face Princess put the aircraft into a steep bank and did a long, slow loop around the site Wildberry's scouts had identified. Sitting on his hands in the copilot's seat, Finn watched her work in fascination. He'd been so tempted to touch the blinky lights and shiny switches that he'd decided to just sit on his hands out of fear. He understood the truck, but this was so arcane, he was afraid he'd do something stupid and wreck the aircraft–with them on it. No matter how many times the tall princess assured him that she would have plenty of time to correct a mistake, Finn refused her offers to try flying the airplane.

Right now the tall princess was busy with the job of the moment–looking for aliens. Flicking a switch, GP activated the belly camera, patching the feed through to the center screen. As soon as the image stabilized on the monitor, the wizard and robot crowded forward to see. The place looked a lot like the spot Martin had taken Bonnie. There was a veritable forest of those telescope things. There was, however, no sign of the aliens or even their army of mutants. Something strange was going on here.

Turning the aircraft west, the Princess flew forty miles from the site before landing. Finn, Flint, and Rattleballs were waiting at the ramp when the ship came to a stop. As soon as he had permission, the hero dropped the ramp and headed down for a look. The empty wasteland stretched for miles in every direction. Turning to Rattleballs, Finn asked, "anything, buddy?" The robot replied, "trace amounts of radioactivity. No radio signals or signs of higher life-forms." Stepping past them, Flint said, "I'm'a go up and look around." Finn asked, "you got my number, right?" With a nod, the elemental said, "programmed it into my phone." Finn let him go with that. Rattleballs announced he was going out to check the perimeter then, and the young hero found himself alone.

His mind wandered for a bit, and he thought of Simone and Billy and how much he missed them. At the same time, his mind wanted to slide off to thoughts of Huntress. Try as he might, he couldn't keep her out of his mind very long. Standing there with thoughts of the wizard–and even Phoebes and Bonnie–drifting through his mind, he was a study in conflict. Stray threads of thought tumbled through his mind–images of Phoebe from when they were dating. Bonnie's voice and words from the numerous times they'd hung out together. Emeraude's scent–even the way she _tasted_–when they were going at it. The hero thought of the stupid ways he'd lost them, and the strange ways he'd found them again.

It was as his thoughts made their fifth circuit around the massive mess that was his life that Finn realized he needed some counseling for more than the ugly mess the alien had left in his head. He needed help deciding. He needed to decide how to live his life because the women in it threatened to consume him. He would have split himself into quarters to make them happy, and honestly he wished Peebles could clone him because he wasn't capable of deciding right now and, if this kept up, he'd find himself in trouble with Bonnie and Phoebe too.

Huntress walked up beside him just then. "We need to talk," said she. Nodding, Finn replied, "ok." Coolly, she said, "we've been a couple for half a year. I don't understand why you want to suddenly cut me off like this." "I don't want to hurt you," said Finn. "I've seen what that's like, and I couldn't do it again." The mercurial wizard turned to face him and lit into him, calling him an asshole and every other name that sprang to mind. When Finn weathered the tantrum, she turned on the water, crying and sobbing pitiably such that Finn had to turn away.

Momentarily it was back to anger as she shoved him and cussed him. "It's the fucking doctor isn't it," she demanded?! "She got you off, so now she's the new thing in your life!" Angry now himself, Finn blew up at her, shouting, "you don't fucking understand what that was like! That fucking thing wanted to cut you to pieces while you were still alive! He wanted me to jerk my rod off on the body!" The wizard's mouth came open in shock, and all the color drained out of her face as her boyfriend told her all about what Imgwesh had planned to do to her and everyone else he cared about.

Emeraude stared in horror as he described how it felt to _enjoy_ squeezing the life out of the woman he loved. Face a mask of anguish, Finn told her just how close he'd been to insanity and how he had come to fear that a piece of that evil fiend was still inside him after he _hurt_ Dr. P in one of their sessions. Emeraude reached out to him, but Finn was already walking away. He left the wizard feeling like the worst person in existence. Shocked and upset, she sat down right where she was and had a good, long cry. Now she understood why he needed therapy, but it left her no closer to having him back.

When Flint returned to the ship, he found his companions–most of them–lounging around outside at the bottom of the ramp. The tall princess was there looking at one of her countless gadgets. The machine was present, sharpening its sword, and the wizard was there, sitting off to one side alone, staring into space. Of Finn there was no sign.

Striding up to the woman who was in charge of this expedition, the elemental announced, "I have scouted the site, Your Highness. I have seen signs of a camp, but no sign that there's anybody there now. We should go and investigate while there is still light in case there are more ambushers waiting for us." "Did you see Finn," asked Grid-Face Princess? "No," replied the elemental. Frowning, he asked, "where is he?" Nodding at the wizard, the princess replied, "she said he went scouting." Those were ominous words. Flint turned and stared back in the direction of the strange machines. "I can go look for him," said he.

"No need to bother," announced Finn, as he seemed to appear from out of nowhere. The startled elemental almost blasted him. "Where the fuck have you been," snarled Huntress, as she shot to her feet?! Ignoring her, Finn walked up to the Princess and said, "I found a tunnel..." Nodding at the place where he'd 'appeared', he said, "maybe was an old sewer or something. It leads off towards the aliens' camp. They were there. No doubt about it." The wizard looked as though she were close to leveling him, but the hero continued to ignore her. He told the others about what he'd seen. There had been more bodies, suggesting that maybe more than one village of Grid-Face people had gone off the map. "Something else," said he. "Saw what might have been tire-tracks... Big ones. Not sure, though."

Flint remarked, "I should have seen them..." "They were faint," replied Finn. "The dirt here's really hard... almost like rock. Whatever dug into it to make the tracks was big." "Let's see it," said Grid-Face Princess. She directed the wizard to go and retrieve the truck. Huntress glared at her a moment as if in anger. There was something odd there, and the princess almost found herself asking about it. Huntress cut off the question before it could fully form in her mind, as the little woman went up the ramp to go get their ride. When she'd backed it out of the hold, the little group piled in, with the princess riding inside with the wizard while Finn got in the back with the war-droid.

Emeraude was in a bit of a state, as she drove them across the hard-packed soil towards the distant radio-telescopes. She felt all of ten-inches tall for the way she'd treated her man. At the same time, she wanted to hit him. Why was he pushing her away? This was when he needed her the most, and he was doing all he could to push her away. Had Simone won? That was the natural conclusion. It was easy for a man to take the path of least resistance, especially when he now had _two_ really good reasons to stay with his wife. She had a counter for that. Unintentional as it was, she had a counter for Simone's hold on him, but she knew that course of action was _very_ risky.

At the same time that the wood-nymph feared Simone, the jealous streak inside her–the one she'd seemingly been _born_ with–wanted to blame it on Bonnie or flame-butt. She'd seen that bitch kiss him, and she'd feared what that meant. Even knowing about the bitch's little _handicap_ didn't really help because Emeraude knew Finn was still stuck on her. A part of him would always belong to that bitch.

The wizard had spent much of the flight from the Candy Kingdom replaying that moment in her mind, and she'd honestly found herself wondering what had happened while the two were alone after the battle at the sea of fire. The elemental knew fire-shield. That would have let them touch each other just fine. Could they have screwed? He claimed that Phoebe couldn't touch anyone that way–that she'd literally blow up. How true was that? Men told a lot of lies about old flames to justify break-ups and explain away continued contacts. He could have been lieing.

_But who would he have been trying to protect,_ thought the wizard. It was another puzzle for someone who'd never really enjoyed them. Her fears about Phoebe's hold on him were irrational, but it didn't make it easier to ignore them. If anything, it made her all the more wary of her employer. Bonnie didn't have a _condition_, and she'd spent the better part of a week silently fighting with the wood-nymph over Finn out there in the wilderness. They had both been nasty–literally dipped in filth–but just the sight of Bonnibel Bubblegum in that tattered nightie raised a green-tinted rage in the wizard, especially given Finn's reactions to that sight. He'd wanted Bonnie before that. The sight of her in that gown had him in a constant state of arousal.

And then there was the carrot her mother kept dangling in front of her face. She could bring Finn to the altar easily and quickly. All she had to do was turn hypocrite. She'd lambasted her race for more than half her life for the things they did to get by. She'd cussed her mother and insulted her sisters for drugging men to get their way. Now a part of her was seriously considering making a potion or buying one. She would have done anything to make Finn hers and hers alone, even if it meant losing the piece of him she loved the most.

No good answers presented themselves on that long drive. The sun was heading down towards the horizon when they finally pulled up at the site of the alien camp. Finn and Rattleballs immediately jumped down. Finn was on the phone to the elemental, reminding him to stay close and keep watch. Passing the door where Huntress sat, Finn told her, "follow me, but keep your distance." She gave him a very sour look, but Finn wasn't paying attention. The princess said, "I brought a more powerful forcefield. It'll buy us time if they open fire on us." She could use the truck's powerplant to supply it and the truck's body to help reinforce it.

As the wizard put the truck in gear again, she asked, "how much can you cover? Can you cover somebody standing alongside?" The princess thought about that for a minute. "For a little while," said she. "Good enough," replied Emeraude. That would be all she needed hopefully. With her foot barely touching the accelerator, Huntress pulled in behind the man she loved, doing her best to keep pace.

Slowly they approached the camp. Everywhere they looked, there were signs that goo-bros had been here. They left scraps of gooey, fetid flesh and drips and drabs of their caustic ichor. There was so much, the wizard was a little bit frightened. Rattleballs padded along just ahead of Finn, his new weapons sweeping this way and that. He'd come close to melting the barrels off them he'd killed so many mutants last time. This time Huntress hoped he could buy enough time for Finn to get into the truck. If she could get him back in the truck, she could get herself and her man out of here. She might just fucking keep going.

They slowly rolled up the distance to the camp as the sun got lower and lower in the sky. The wizard turned on the lights, as her nervous hands danced around the steering wheel. The masked marvel was fiddling with something under the dashboard before her. "You better not fucking break something," muttered Emeraude. Sheepishly, Grid-Face Princess murmured, "we probably should have done this back at the plane." The wood-nymph warrior rolled her eyes. Yeah. Probably.

As the sun was dipping below the horizon, they finally reached the camp, finding it just as Flint had said. It was empty. There was nobody around. Walking around in the wrack and ruin, Finn said, "they left in a big hurry." Turning to Rattleballs, he said, "stay with the truck, big guy. Princess? Come with me..." Rattleballs padded along beside the truck as Emeraude shadowed the pair into the ruined campsite. It was a lot bigger than she'd been expecting. There were many more structures and tents than she'd thought they would see. Were there more survivors than they thought? Or was something else at work.

Scanning the area with one of her gadgets, the stacked princess said, "they had a radioactive power-source..." Finn frowned at her. Waving with the gadget in her hand, the princess said, "they had a crude fission reactor. I'll bet they used it to power their camp." Finn asked, "does that matter?" "Yes, Finn," sighed the genius. "If they have access to a sufficient amount of fissionable material, they can operate their transmitter indefinitely." Bonnie had given her the low-end figure that Martin quoted her for power-requirements. If the aliens could build a working fission reactor, they could run their transmitter a long, long while.

"A-are you saying we failed," stammered Finn? "No," replied Grid-Face Princess. "We haven't failed yet, but we don't have much time. They're close. They're very close to success." She needed to take some more readings. That would tell her how much fissionable material Gorsh had to work with. This was something beyond Finn, and he knew it. Turning to Rattleballs, he said, "hey, buddy? I think you're more qualified for this than me." The war-droid stepped forward, announcing, "how may I be of service, Your Highness?" "I'll need your sensors," announced the Princess, as she and the robot headed off into the camp. Finn returned to the truck, sat down on the hood and lay back to wait.

It was several hours before the Princess returned. Flint came and went, staying just long enough to siphon a little heat from the truck's engine. Huntress stayed in the cab, caught in a strange hell where she hungered to reach out to her man and feared the response at the same time. They were together–as much as they could be–and yet utterly divided. When the sun had set completely, the wizard turned on the spotlights and sidelights, illuminating the area around the truck like daylight. And still they waited.

Finally, just before ten, Rattleballs walked up out of the gloom with a somber Grid-Face Princess behind him. "Finn," called the wizard, as she exited the truck. The hero sat up with a yawn. Hopping off the hood of the truck, he waited for his friends to come into speaking range. He could tell by the set of her shoulders that the princess was a bit of a mess just now, but then Finn imagined he should have expected that. Hundreds of her peeps were dead. As the pair came within speaking distance, Finn moved to meet them, carrying his armored jacket. It was a little funky from his walk through that sewer/tunnel, but it was warm and dry. He wrapped it around GP's shoulders and steered her for the passenger seat.

Huntress saw red for a moment. Then, as Finn shut the door and walked away, she squelched the feeling. Hadn't he done just that for _her_? Even after all the nasty things she'd done to him? It was the way he was. It was the reason she loved him. Finn was already on the phone with Flint, telling the elemental to scoot on back to the ship. Coming around the front of the truck, he tucked his phone into a pocket and said, "jump in, E. Let's get back to the ship."

The team was silent as Huntress pulled the truck up the ramp and stopped it. Finn immediately jumped down and got the ramp closed. Huntress got out of the cab and watched him as he got out a canteen and slugged down some water. He was staring off into space in the direction of the aliens' camp. "We need to figure out our next move," rumbled the wizard. "Yeah," said Finn. Turning around, he went back to the passenger side of the truck. Opening the door, he reached out to Grid-Face Princess, took her hand, and helped her out of the truck. "I-I'm fine," said the princess. Shaking off her funke, she said, "come on. We can do this in my quarters."

The quartet followed the tall princess up the stairs to the second level. As she walked, the princess dialed up the airplane's forcefield. It paid to be careful with what they were dealing with right now, and they didn't really know if the aliens were gone for good. Arriving in her office/bedroom, the Princess shed the belt she was wearing with its gadgets and walked across to the desk, swinging that round ass as she went. The size and shape of that firm, round butt, and the fact that her jumpsuit was drawn up into the crack of her ass so tight it looked like he could see her snatch, had his pants feeling two sizes too small. Finn had to force himself not to watch that ass move.

When she reached the desk, the princess bent over to reach the controls on the far side, and that really tested the hero's resolve. Staring at the far wall, he resolved to keep his eyeballs fixed there until she was done with whatever she was doing. Momentarily a hologram sprang to life. "This is the site as we knew it," said she. The princess turned to face them once more, saying, "these structures have been here for over a thousand years with little change to the site in all that time." Waving her finger, she caused the image to change. "It took me a bit to figure out what I was seeing, and Finn, you probably wouldn't have realized what you were looking at...," said she. He did now. One of the towers was missing! It was just completely gone! "Lock, stock, and barrel," said she the Princess. "Somehow they've managed to rig it up to some kind of mobile structure. That's the tracks you found."

"So it's moving," howled Huntress?! "That giant fucking thing is moving?!" Nodding, the Princess said, "it takes science that I barely understand... I... Well, my people could do it, if we harnessed our forcefield technology..." "Which is probably what this Gorsh guy is doing," rumbled Finn. "Question is: Where's he taking it?" Nodding in agreement, the wizard said, "somewhere he thinks he can defend with his army of goo-bros..." All eyes turned to the tall princess.

With a heavy sigh, Grid-Face Princess said, "our dreadful secret..." Finn frowned. With a heavy sigh, the Princess said, "all the major Kingdoms of Ooo exist atop a buried artifact dating from the time before the Mushroom War... They're... The Kingdoms exist to protect the world from these terrible places and things." Finn frowned. He knew that. He knew the Candy Kingdom somehow sat/floated on top of some nasty toxic soup. He'd... his old self had been warped by it.

"At the center of my kingdom lies an ancient power source," said the Princess. "Ancient documents suggest it malfunctioned with great loss of life even before the Mushroom War. It has terrible effects on any who spend time near it. Animals, people, even plants. It's... Well, it's the source of the mutants... the 'goo-bros' as you call them." Emeraude sighed, "explains where he got his hands on so many." "And I'm guessing your people wouldn't go anywhere near it," said Finn. The Princess nodded. Just so. Finn headed for the rear of the plane, saying, "well, we're going to have to change that. I'm'a go get the truck tied down. We can start out at first light... find these guys, and get this done..."


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35:

"And this creature is _here_," asked the town's Lord-Mayor? Finn nodded. The Grid-Face person turned to his ruler. Grid-Face Princess nodded. "They're inside the forbidden land, Yuri," said she. "They're tapping the ancient power source somehow." "It does much to explain the movements of the mutants," rumbled the Lord-Mayor. His town had seen swarms of them these last couple of weeks–numbers unseen in many years. Living as close as they did to the blight, they were more alert than most towns, and they'd managed to get the town's forcefield up in time to prevent several attacks. Usually once or twice was enough to discourage the mutants, but they had been very persistent.

"There's peeps controlling them," said Finn. The Lord-Mayor goggled at him. "We don't know how, but there's some real bad dudes controlling them," explained the hero. "We're goin' in there to take these dudes down." "How can I help," asked the Lord-Mayor? "We'll need some equipment," said the Princess. "Radiation badges to start. I'll need a laboratory, and we'll need to have the wash-down equipment ready for when they get back."

In short order, they had the ship secured, and they were headed for the Mayor's mansion, where they could all get cleaned up and rest up before heading into the blasted wasteland that was the Blight. Finn said not a word when Emeraude got led away alongside Grid-Face Princess. He needed to think, and he wasn't sure what he could say to her anyway. In lieu of having another unpleasant conversation, the hero went to his own room to shower, locking the door to make sure he didn't get a surprise. Coming out of the shower, he found a hologram floating in the middle of his room bearing a message from Grid-Face Princess.

Holding the towel on with one hand, he poked the glowing node that floated there in the center of the room. Immediately text appeared, and a voice announced, "Her Royal Highness, Princess Nadia, of the Grid-People, does hereby request your presence..." As soon as those words were spoken, the hologram faded from view, shrinking down to a pinpoint of light before winking out. Finn let out a heavy sigh. He hoped this was a strategy session. He would be rather irritated if it wasn't.

The hero dug out some clean clothes, belted on his sword, and headed out to go see what she wanted. _At least I know her name now,_ thought the hero. Emeraude had made him a little self-conscious about not learning people's actually name. He knew she had been tweaking his nose, but it was a little embarrassing that he so rarely stopped to ask. Stopping a servant in the hall, the hero got directions to the room the Princess had been given. The servant sent him upstairs to the top floor.

Finn headed down the hall and then up the stairs, climbing five levels before reaching the opulent master suite. Walking down that hall, looking around him at the walls with their shiny, metallic wallpaper and feeling the thick, heavy carpet under his feet, he found himself whistling. Was this what Princess Nadia was used to? Honestly, Bonnie's place wasn't anything like this. Of course Bonnie's home suited her personality. She was more about science than comfort, and she did have her fixation on sugary things.

Arriving at the doorway of the master-suite, he found the usual opaque forcefield blocking the doorway instead of the more familiar wood, metal, or even candy that he'd become used to. Pressing the button beside the door, he announced himself, "hey, GP... uh... Nadia... It's me, Finn..." The forcefield abruptly vanished, and the hero walked inside.

The space beyond that doorway was dark, cool, and moist–definitely soothing after the dust and the heat of the dry wasteland. Finn looked around him, trying to pierce the gloom as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. As his vision slowly sharpened, he found himself staring down a long hallway. "Hmm," he murmured as he stepped off into Grid-Face Princess's quarters with a look of wary unease on his face.

Girls did that to him now. Worse, the more he knew them, the more he distrusted them. As a man with far too much to lose, he'd begun to see even people he'd begun to see every girl he met as a threat to his happiness with Simone. "GP," he called? "Where you at?" No answer came, and Finn's worry ratcheted up a notch. Walking down the hall, the hero passed more of the strange forcefield-doors that the Grid-People used. The Mayor's place was pretty flippin' big, and he wondered how big Nadia's place was.

Arriving at the end of the hall, he found himself in a wider space. The room was just as dark as the hall had been, but just a shade warmer. Pleasant scents of food wafted to him through the moist darkness. "Come in, Finn," said Grid-Face Princess. The hero stepped into the room, looking around him as he did. He found her sitting there in the strange outfit she'd worn on the ship. His mouth went a little dry at the sight of her there dressed like that. As he walked across the room, his mind was in turmoil as he thought again and again that he really shouldn't be in here alone with her like this. So terrified was the young hero that he didn't even realize that she had taken off the mask until he was sitting down in front of her.

She was, in a word, beautiful. Princess Nadia was as beautiful as any of the women in his life. Far from having an ugly robot head on her slim shoulders, she had a sharp, angular face with a pointed chin and high cheekbones. She had short, reddish-blonde hair, and the only tech he could see was a small antenna-like device sticking up behind her ear–that and her uncanny eyes. GP's eyes were like silver scales. Like the forcefield at the door, they were completely opaque. And strangely enough, they were entrancingly pretty.

Nadia smiled as she noted his reaction. As she scanned across the spectrum, she could see the obvious signs of his interest. The blood rushed hot and fast through his veins, suffusing his ruggedly handsome face with a deep red. It took a little of the edge of fear away. She was honestly in lust with his beautiful body. She'd had a low-level hunger for him ever since learning from a friend about all the princesses he'd made out with. Seeing him in action with Dr. Princess had ignited a blazing fire inside her. She wanted that to be _her_!

It was utterly mad and she knew it. They were grossly incompatible with no interests at all in common. He wasn't the most scientific person in the world. If she were honest, he was dumb as the proverbial post, but that wasn't what she needed anyway. She had thousands of scientists to stimulate her mind. The horny princess needed a different kind of stimulation! Finn the human looked more than capable of giving it to her.

The stacked princess clapped her hands and a small army of robots came out, carrying food. Finn, who scarcely realized how hungry he was, greeted the sights and smells coming his way with an embarrassing stomach gurgle. The young man blushed to his hair, but Nadia only laughed. She could work on his etiquette later. In the now, she launched the conversation by asking about the young enigma himself. Other than the obvious, she knew precious little about Finn. The younger man had almost literally burst onto the scene ten years ago, earning a reputation for heroism that had started to eclipse that of Billy the giant.

Finn was happy to tell her about his life, holding little back. He was funny and far more clever than she had guessed. It didn't take long before she was relaxed and enjoying the conversation as much as he was. It felt _good_ to be past her body-issues and talking with an attractive male specimen! As the conversation progressed she found herself teasing him about some of the things he said and did and leaning towards him in obvious interest.

On his side, Finn existed in a state of complete terror. He'd been doing everything in his power not to start checking the princess out, but it was hard when she had knobs like battering rams and she seemed to be leaning forward like she intended to _make_ Finn look. The dress she had on wasn't helping. It was completely see-through and only the undergarments she had on beneath it kept him from seeing just about everything. Backlit by the weird candle-like crystals that were scattered around the room, she looked _naked_. Staring at her face didn't help. Her sassy, _shorty_ haircut reminded him of E and had him wanting to rail the shit out of her. She was like Bonnie, Simone, and Emeraude all rolled into one.

As the machines took away the last dishes, Finn wiped his lips as he began looking for a way to exit this situation. He needed to get out before he really got in trouble. Things were bad with E right now, but she wasn't a princess! Nadia could pull a Wildberry and have him whacked. He had been a year apologizing for Jake being a dick to Wildberry before she finally forgave them. Right now, Finn didn't have a year to get off Nadia's shiznit list. They needed her help too much, and he started wracking his brain for excuses to slip out. Unfortunately the princess wasn't going to let him go so easily.

Rising, showing off her hard, flat belly, Nadia came around to his side. Fearing she'd do something crazy like sit in his lap, Finn shot to his feet, almost overturning his chair in his haste. Far from surprising or deflecting her, that had her thin lips curling in an eager smile. Twining her arm with his, she said, "let's go to the balcony." Fearing he'd regret that but fearing the consequences of insulting her, Finn followed along. As he walked, he eased his arm out of her grip. Glancing over at him, she smiled sweetly. That smile seemed to ask if he wanted dessert to go with dinner.

When he tried to lag behind, she caught his hand and pulled him along. The whole way across the room, the hero struggled to keep his eyes off her beautiful butt and the tiny panties it was poured into. Fuck, she was smokin'! _Why couldn't these guys be in PrincessPrincessPrincess's kingdom,_ thought the hero?! He'd never want to get in _her_ panties. Yuck!

Out on the balcony, the stacked princess stayed close, becoming more than a little clingy as they looked up at the stars. Finn did his best to ignore that bangin' bod and the soft scent of perfume. It was a night for hangin' with your girl, just talking or even getting nasty. He wished he was with Simone.

Or Emeraude.

They hadn't had many nights like this–just chilling, maybe talking. She was a super girlfriend, and she deserved that. He wished he could give her those sweet moments. And he really wished he could get the hell out of _here_.

On her side, Nadia was ready to scream in frustration. The moment was right. He was standing there with a beautiful woman. He had a full stomach. He was in perfect health. All the signs were there that he was _ready_. She could see it in the ebb and flow of blood through his body. She could _smell_ it on him. He was ready to make love. So why wasn't he moving? What was wrong? Was he still having problems with sex? Resolving to break the ice, the beautiful princess reached out and took his hand.

She could tell by the momentary catch of his breath that he knew what she meant by that gesture. Still he did nothing. Resolving to force the matter, Nadia turned to Finn and pulled him to her. Instinctively, his powerful arms slid around her trim waist as their lips met. He _was_ hungry. From having Simone and even having permission to rail Dr. P., Finn had dropped to nothing over the last few days. The feel of GP's beautiful form against him–her sexy hips grinding against him–had his little buddy standing tall. At the same time, he knew he would deserve nothing if he didn't get control and _fast_!

Finn had feared she would try something like this. He'd feared it since Bonnie told him who he'd be working with. Even that didn't prepare him for the reality. Her kiss stole his breath, and it took everything he had to break that hot kiss. Knowing she'd keep trying, he held on, keeping her beautiful body against him. Nadia kept trying to rub her hot snatch against him, and he felt those huge knobs pressed into his chest. Focusing all his will, he forced himself to say, "stop."

Holding the beautiful woman in his arms, Finn told her, "I can't give you what you want, Nadia." He felt her stiffen, but he held her all the same. Gently as he could, he said, "you're a really neat girl, and I'd be a pretty lucky dude to have you." There was a 'but' there, though. Sadly, Finn reminded her, "but I'm married, Nadia, and Simone's a pretty neat girl too. I have two kids with her. It wouldn't be right to dump her, and you wouldn't be able to trust me if I did..." With a heavy sigh, Nadia murmured, "you can't blame a girl for trying." Finn chuckled.

Stepping back from her, he said, "thanks for understanding." Grinning at the bulge in his pants, she said, "well at least I know you're not lieing..." Finn snorted, "ch'yeah, man! You're smokin' hot! I'd totes jump that bad bod if I wasn't hitched!" Leaning towards him, Nadia kissed him one last time. "Alright, hero," murmured the beautiful Princess. "I have a gift for you." At his puzzled frown, she said, "I'd ah... intended to give it to you uhm... later..." Finn blushed. She went inside for a moment. Returning to the balcony, she said, "this will help you in your future endeavors..." She had what looked like a piece of shoulder armor.

Strapping it across his left shoulder, she explained, "it's three-hundred years old. My father's bodyguard wore it. It's been handed down across generations..." Hearing those words, Finn tried to stop her, but Nadia wouldn't hear of it. As she fastened it into place, Finn gave vent to a heavy sigh. In spite of his best efforts, another woman had just put her mark on him. He knew now that it never stopped with just this–certainly not now when she'd just made him her Royal Champion. Now he had to look forward to the endless advances of _another_ beautiful woman. Jake would have said he was growing up, but he could have done without this experience.

As she stepped back, a smile on her beautiful face, Finn glanced at his new toy and said, "cool. What's it do?" Grinning ear to ear, she said, "it's a personal forcefield projector!" Excited as only Bonnie could have been, she gushed about all it could do. Finn did his best to understand, though the technical details went whooshing over his head. As he was asking how to control it, a loud hum suddenly arose. As Finn stared around him in puzzlement, the princess announced, "the forcefield's up!" Finn followed her eyes skyward to find a yellow glow suffusing the sky. His eyes followed the glow to its source–a massive tower that jutted skyward like a pillar of steel a few blocks away.

Finn could think of only one reason they would activate the powerful machinery. "An attack," rumbled the hero. Before he could go rushing for the door, she stopped him. As Finn fidgeted, she stood there staring into space. He knew she was doing something technical, but he didn't know what. "Mutants," she announced, and he realized that maybe she had some kind of internal phone embedded in her head or something. "They're piled up at the edges of the forcefield," breathed the princess. "There's... there're _thousands_!" Alarmed, Finn demanded, "can they get in?!" "No," she breathed. "The forcefield can hold them for years. The power source is buried two-hundred feet underground." They were trapped, but they were safe for the moment. "How long can we hold out," asked Finn? "What have we got here for food?" "Hold on," she murmured, holding a finger up against his lips.

As Finn watched, her face contorted in panic, and she spun around to face the tall spire. Her hands gripped the rail in terror as she said, "the guards manning the forcefield control room are reporting someone trying to break in!" "Alien spies," muttered Finn. "We gotta' stop 'em." Grabbing the Princess, Finn vaulted the rail, dropping down four floors in seconds. Nadia shrieked in terror, burying her face against his shoulder to shield her eyes from their impending death.

Finn clicked the device on his belt–one of the bubble-gadgets she'd shown them in the ruined village. The device instantly enveloped them in the same sort of squishy forcefield she'd demonstrated. They landed and bounced ten feet into the air, finally settling to the ground thirty feet from the Mayor's mansion. As the bubble dissolved, Finn dropped the gadget and ran towards the building that housed the forcefield generator. Nadia knew he'd need backup. Drawing her phone, she dialed up the wizard and Prince Flint. Then she ran after her sweet champion. He would need help finding his way down in the tunnels.

Following the princess's instructions, Finn threaded his way through the maze-like streets to the tower. Jogging through the town, they passed people staring out their windows in worry, and Finn had the distinct feeling that some kind of alert had gone out. "Tell them to barricade their homes," Finn puffed. "At the least it'll buy time if the forcefield goes down." "Good thinking," she breathlessly shouted. Concentrating, she sent orders out to the town's guard to get her people under shelter.

As they came up on the spire, she announced, "the forcefield's holding, Finn, but we've lost contact with the men in the control room." Grimly, Finn said, "we can't wait for E and Rattleballs. Let's go." Finn took her by the hand and led the way into the tunnel. Almost immediately they found that the heavy steel door that protected the entry had been melted through–much like the doors at Turtle-Princess's library. _Aliens,_ thought Finn. It was a certainty now. Drawing the Finn-Sword, he prepared to get down to business.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36:

It was a nice day–neither too hot nor too cold. The sky was clear, and with the sun on her face, the former Ice-Queen was content. The street cafe was one of her little indulgences. It was her chance to be out of the house. She would stop here once a week for a sandwich and coffee. Before Martin came into their lives, Finn would join her. Even with the expense, he insisted she still go without him.

Sitting in the basket beside her, Billy was happy and excited. The little fellow stared out at the world around them in curiosity. There was not a person that passed them on the street who failed to comment on how adorable the little fellow was. In the crowded cafe, Billy was getting more attention than he typically did, and her little boy loved it! It seemed half the women there wanted to pick him up or kiss his little cheek. He was like his dad that way.

There was one thing bothering Simone, though. There was a man in the corner who'd been watching her nearly time she'd been here. Simone was used to being watched. Even preggers, she had men complimenting her. It went with the territory. The former wizard soaked up the attention like a sponge. This... was _different_. He looked at her not like a desirable woman but like a target. It was odd behavior, and the former wizard didn't like it one bit. Done with her sandwich and realizing that she had laundry to do at home, Simone rose to go.

Walking down the street, she took note of the position of the sun in the sky. She'd been there a lot longer than she intended–long after she'd finished lunch in fact. She'd procrastinated and loafed about. She knew why. It didn't take a lot of probing to figure it out. She missed her hubby. She missed her sweet little boy. She missed the bad jokes, and she missed him roping her into playing video games for hours when they both had chores around the house. She missed his loving, and she missed the feel of him in bed beside her afterwards. Most of all though, she missed the sound of his voice. She wanted to hear his voice–to know he was alright. Resolving to call him now–before it got too late–Simone rushed for the gates.

The beautiful woman scarcely noticed there was anyone behind her. It was something she wouldn't have thought of when she was the Ice-Queen. Who would be dumb enough to attack a wizard who could freeze them solid from the inside out?! The strange man followed that wiggling ass all the way across town, licking his lips as it wig-wagged back and forth. He'd been promised that he could keep this one.

That had taken some fast negotiating. When he'd seen that beautiful face and the bangin' bod, he'd been on the phone immediately, calling up the boss and negotiating hard. The question had gone all the way up to the customer. That piece of meat was much too valuable to just slaughter and toss in the bin, though. A face like that would bring hard coin in the wastelands. The kid? That was a bonus. Raise him up just right, he could be a gladiator or something. Nice strong back and he could be a big earner. The prize together was worth more than the customer was paying for simple elimination.

Unfortunately the customer had agreed too. Belko had been hoping to just make this bird do a Houdini. He would have told the customer that she was dead and whisked her off to a far-off land. He would have collected twice on this deal. Instead he now had to share the profit from selling the bird with the customer. He was allowed to keep all he got from the kid. The money would be small–at least until he was big enough to earn. The customer didn't want the risk. Fast money was the name of the game here. Belko was a little smarter than that. Fast money was nice, but steady money was better.

The bird moved fast, and she was alert. She was more alert than most. She was watchful of people around her, and she didn't slow down or stop. With the kid tied up into a harness in front of her chest, she managed to keep at least one hand free. Belko had been warned that she had been some kind of wizard once. He'd have to be extra careful. Indeed, he'd arranged for a fair amount of help with the job.

There were thugs lined up all the way to the gate. As the bird's keen eyes burned one tail, another man got on her trail, while the previous guy disappeared down a side-street. Slowly, bit by bit, the tails worked closer and closer. They weren't going to take her here on the streets. That was too dangerous. The guards here were stirred up these days. Whoever was running them now had put the fear of Glob in them, and they weren't shy now about rousting fellas. The move had been planned for when the mark was home. Alone. Belko just wanted to make sure she didn't meet up with anybody along the way.

Simone left the confines of the Candy Kingdom and went striding across the grasslands, ironically walking in the very tracks Finn's truck had worn as he went in and out of the Kingdom on business or to fetch things for her. The feel of the hard-packed earth in those wheel-ruts called to her, bringing the sting of tears to her eyes. Finn was the foremost hero on Ooo, and she was grateful for that. No-one else could have braved the Maze to save her sanity, and nobody else could have protected the planet from the rampage of Martin Mertens and his alien horde. Still, she wanted him _home_, and she didn't want him to ever go again.

The hunger to hear his voice–to laugh at his dumb jokes–quickened her steps, and Simone found herself close to running as she went across the rough ground. Pressed in against her chest, Billy giggled in happiness. The treehouse was in sight. _Do I make an excuse to call,_ thought Simone? He was busy. She knew he was busy. He was hunting down the last of the rogues. She didn't want to risk interfering in that, but she reasoned that he would probably bed down for the night. It was close to bed-time where he was right now.

Rushing up on the treehouse, Simone was happy to find it just as she'd left it. She'd been worried that she left the stove going. She knew that it would take a lot to start the house on fire, but she feared that in her scatterbrained haste to get to town and back, she'd forget and leave an open flame going or something. It was something she was working on–making a list and checking it off before she went out the door. It took longer–a lot longer–to get dinner on or the house heated up when she put the fire out, but she felt better about that.

As soon as the pretty housewife reached her doorstep, she went into the entry, put the basket of groceries inside, and then returned outside to the woodpile. Gathering up an armful of firewood, she headed in, locking the door up behind her. The wood got stacked in the dumbwaiter Finn had built for her and hoisted up to the kitchen. Then, gathering up her child and the groceries, she headed upstairs herself.

Hundreds of miles away, Finn had just run headlong into the surprise of a lifetime. He and Nadia had come around a corner in the tunnel and run headlong into a trio of robots. The deadly machines came armed with four of those alien guns apiece, and they lit up the hallway the minute Finn came into view. Almost instinctively, Finn threw up a hand to shield himself. To his surprise, a strange disc of force sprang into being an inch from his head, blocking the deadly bolt of malice that had been about to end his life.

Ducking back–shoving Nadia before him, Finn cleared the hallway as the robots sprayed the tunnel. "Friends of theirs," shouted Finn over the thunder of the guns! The robots weren't like the aliens. They were each armed with four guns, and their movements were fast and fluid–much faster than their creators. "There's a second tunnel," shouted Nadia! Taking him by the arm, she led him back the way they'd come. Taking a different branch of the tunnel, she led the way down into a narrower tunnel–one better suited for people. The pair crept along. Now Finn had his sword high and ready. He wasn't going to get surprised again.

"The shield is nice, yes," asked Nadia? Grimly, Finn nodded. It was very nice. As in it had saved his flippin' buttocks nice. "You can control the shield with your mind," she said. "Envision in your mind where you need it to be, and it will be there." "Envisi-what," he rumbled? "Your imagination, Finn," chuckled the stacked princess. "I know you've got a nice imagination... Among other things..." Finn blushed to his hair as she pinched one of those 'other things'. Girls. What was he going to do with them?

Rounding the corner, Finn brought his mind into the sharpest focus he'd ever had. This was it. If those guys got rid of the forcefield, lots of peeps were going to die. That was even before you got into the whole 'letting loose a planet-destroying monster' thing. Doubles or nothing, and here they went again. Finn came out of the tunnel into the open space the robots had been guarding and found himself facing a twenty-yard run, and almost immediately one of the robots turned and opened fire.

_Doubles or nothing,_ thought Finn as he rushed forward. The Finn-Sword did its thing, darting and swooping, deflecting bolt after bolt. There were so many coming, there wasn't a hope of getting one of those neat ricochets that hit the sender. As Finn rushed forward, a second robot turned, and it too opened fire. He could hear Nadia screaming behind him. Finn hesitated, torn between the need to protect a woman he'd come to care about and his fears for the people of Ooo. Both robots turned their guns on him, and he knew he was a goner.

And then his phone began to ring.

Simone paced the floor, listening to the phone ringing. Where was he? Was he washing? He could be washing now. Why wasn't he answering? He could be in the toilet. She knew he got a little weirded out when people called and he was on the can. Was he alright? Her heart wanted to speed up, even though she knew that was stupid. She tried not to fear for him, but it was hard–especially after almost losing him this last time.

Hundreds of miles away, Princess Nadia was getting the shock of her life. As she watched in amazement, three defense discs at once sprang to life, deflecting the incoming gunfire. She'd been certain her sweet champion was gone. Now, as she watched, he ducked and dodged gunfire, while discs appeared and disappeared at will. That shouldn't have been possible. Not for a primitive mind like his. And then he did the craziest thing yet. He drew his phone as if he was going to answer it.

Simone Mertens was delighted when the phone picked up. At least she was until she caught sight of the strange man from the café standing there at the top of her stairs in her home. As Finn called out, "hey, babe! Kinda' busy!" Simone was busy herself. The intruder rushed her, and she was shocked to find that he wasn't alone. No shrinking violet, she met him halfway across the kitchen. Phone tucked between her ear and shoulder, the stacked housewife threw ninja-kicks and strikes, stunning the would-be slaver and chasing him back towards the stairs. "I-I know, honey," stammered Simone. "I-I just wanted to hear you..."

On his end, Finn was playing the long game. The strange armor that Nadia gave him had given him a chance to hang tough against the robots, and he was slowly working his way forward, deflecting gunshots with the Finn Sword, conjuring energy-discs left and right, and dodging when that didn't work. Simone's words touched his heart. She was why he did this. She and Billy. It used to be about getting his kicks. Now it was about the woman he loved and his little family. "Baby, I'm ok," Finn replied as he got a ricochet just right. The bolt of light bounced back and took out one of the guns facing him, bursting the barrel in a crash of thunder.

"W-what was that," asked Simone?! It sounded like he was out in a storm! "N-nothing," stammered Finn! He didn't dare tell her what was really going on. She'd been a mess just seeing him taking on the goo-bros at the bridge that one time! At the same time, back in the treehouse, Simone did a neat pirouette and unleashed a trio of shuriken, ripping the throat of one assailant and gashing the forehead of a second. "Babe, are you ok," asked Finn? He'd heard a scream. "F-fine, honey," gasped Simone. "Water in the sink was too hot." She was toe to toe with two of them now. One had a heavy cord in his hands, trying to trap her arm. The other had a knife. He'd clearly moved on past any inhibitions about killing her. He had to go first.

Excusing herself, the former Ice-Queen tossed her phone into the air. Then she lashed out with a crushing kick to the knee and then a knee to the chin as the man with the knife went down. Catching the phone, she did a spinning roundhouse and flattened the man with the cord. "Sounds like you're out of breath," grunted Finn. "You... sound... breathless... too...," gasped Simone. "Lifting weights," Finn lied. He jammed his sword into the closest robot's leg, and the machine dropped to one knee. The hero dodged back as it tried to swat him.

"You and your weights," laughed Simone as she dodged a fourth assailant. This one carried a heavy club, and he swung it with skill and precision, driving her around the room. She was headed back towards the man who'd started all of this. He had a bag in his hand, and it was clear he meant to just throw it over her head. They were trying to kidnap her! They were trying to snatch her from her own home! It was time to go all in.

Going in a pocket, the former wizard brought out the spell-arrow that had been in Finn's quiver. She'd sort of snatched it one day while Finn was out. He'd forgotten all about it, but for a woman alone trying to protect her child and home, it was a treasure. Now she grasped it in one hand, draining it of its power and converting that power to...

Ice.

Belko felt a chill. It felt a lot like the temperature had dropped eight-billion flippin' degrees. Only it wasn't dropping _in the room_. It felt a lot like it was dropping inside _him_. As Finn polished off the damaged robot, slicing its head clean off with the Finn-Sword, Simone killed the last two assailants, riddling them with bolts of jagged ice. Puffing with the exertion, Finn said, "I gotta' go, babe. Was there something important you wanted?" "I-I just called to see if you were alright," Simone puffed. Finn blew her a kiss goodbye and then hung up the phone. Just then, Flint and Huntress came rushing into the room from the other tunnel. Flint hurled fireballs at the robot closest to Finn. As the robot turned to face the new threat, Finn jumped up and jammed his sword down into the machine's back. Huntress lay down a barrage of spell-arrows at the final robot, flattening it.

"'Bout time you guys showed up," puffed Finn! The wizard cussed him. Flint asked, "what the hell's going on?" "Aliens," Finn told his almost-brother-in-law. "They're trying to shut down the forcefield protecting the town from the goo-bros." Nadia came up just then, saying, "this way! It's this way!" She went straight across to a third passage that led out of the chamber. Huntress goggled at what she was wearing. "What," demanded the wizard?! "Were you fucking her?!" Grabbing her by the arm, Finn ran off into the tunnel, saying, "you can play jealous later!"

As they raced along the tunnel, Nadia turned to Finn and asked, "how did you do that?" Finn gave her a look of complete bafflement. "I've... That is... You shouldn't have been able to do that," stammered the pretty princess. "Do what," asked the hero? "I've never seen anyone manipulate the defense discs so smoothly," said Nadia, "and you were able to do five at once! I couldn't do that if I tried." Jerking her arm out of Finn's grasp, the wizard growled, "somebody better explain before I light this bitch on fire and put my foot in your ass, donk!"

With a grin a mile wide from the princess's praise, Finn explained, "GP gave me this totes cool personal forcefield! I can make as many discs as I want, and they kinda' do what I tell them to do." Huntress gave her a look of utter hatred. Nadia was too busy staring at her champion. She'd underestimated him. Finn was still gushing about his new toy when they came out into the antechamber for the forcefield control room. Just as Finn had feared, the aliens were in the process of burning their way into the innermost chamber. They'd already managed to flatten the crew inside somehow. Now they were working on the door.

"Give it up dudes," growled Finn! "You're goin' _down_!" The aliens turned and fired some sort of energy pulse at Flint. The elemental dodged aside, but the glowing orb somehow stole some of his energy, nearly flattening him. As he howled in pain, his assailant leveled his weapon at the young prince to fire again. Hurling the Finn-Sword like a dagger, Finn skewered the alien, killing him stone dead. Huntress screamed at him for being so reckless as a second assailant tried to level Finn. Just as Finn had said, a glowing green disc sprang into being between him and the alien, deflecting that death-ray at the last second.

Finn rushed forward, shouting, "E! Offense!" As the wizard stared with eyes gone wide with her shock, the hero charged in, twisting and turning this way and that, as the strange energy discs turned the attacks of the four remaining aliens. It was only when one of them nearly scored on him that Huntress got her wits back. Leveling a lightning bolt, she knocked him down. Meticulously, she went from one alien to the next, lining up her shots carefully so as to avoid damaging something down here. By the time she was down to the last alien, Finn had retrieved his sword. He sliced the guy's leg off at the same time Huntress blasted him out of his britches.

"Phew," gasped Finn! "Worked up a sweat!" He turned and went across to Flint, asking, "you ok, buddy?" The elemental glared at him. Finn stopped where he was. "I... could go get you something to burn," said he. "I'm fine," growled Flint, as he got to his feet. Nadia turned her attention to the door. Running her palm across a panel, she caused the illusion there to waver and melt away. The door had been breached a while ago, but the aliens had been unable to see it. Reaching through the hole, she opened the door and carefully stepped inside over the molten chunks of slag. Finn stepped up to the door and watched her.

The stacked princess went from one control panel to another, checking this and that. "The shield holds," said she at last. Straightening from examining a readout in all its minute details, she found Finn examining _her_ minute details. She smiled at him. Blushing, Finn smiled back. "Thanks, Nadia," said he. When he would have taken off the armband, the sexy Royal stopped him. Taking his face in her hands, she kissed his sweet lips and said, "it is an offense to return a Royal Gift, Finn." Blushing, Finn said, "uh... yeah, man... Just figured maybe since this thing works better than you thought, one of your guys should have it..." Smiling, she said, "I've never seen it work so well for anyone before you. You must have a genetic gift..."

Barging through the doorway, Huntress interrupted, "there's still swarms of mutants out there. We need to go deal with them." "Of course," said Nadia, though Finn wasn't sure she believed things to be urgent anymore. The sexy princess brushed past Finn, those huge knobs brushing against him. He was appalled–and turned on–to see the fat nips were sticking out from the cold down here. _Shit, she's got a nice rack,_ he thought, as he turned to follow. Huntress punched him in his side as he passed her, and Finn gave her a sheepish grin.

Up on the surface, they found a couple of guards waiting on them. "Go down to the control room," said Nadia. "The crew is dead, but the control station is secure." She needed to get to high-ground. With her companions in tow, the beautiful princess went up the exterior of the massive tower, climbing up and up. Flint floated lazily up alongside the staircase. Finn found himself bringing up the rear. It was almost as though the wizard wanted to be sure he didn't get a good look at the tall woman's hot body.

Arriving at the observation platform a hundred feet up the side of the tower, Nadia stepped forward to the railing. Twisting her body back and forth, she stared out into the gloom. "What are you doing," demanded the jealous wizard? "Shaking your knobs at them?" Nadia chuckled, "using my high-gain antennas to track the control signal actually..." As the wood-nymph wizard stared, Finn explained, "GP's got tech all over her body." "I guess I got back in line twice for boobies," chuckled the genius. "Thought about having them surgically reduced a couple times–especially when mom told me they'd get _bigger_ if I ever went on the pill or got knocked-up. Never had the nerve, and later on, my knockers made a great spot for my communications antenna." She had the longest receive range in the kingdom!

"W-what're you saying," stammered Emeraude? "I'm picking up a signal," said the princess. "Just as we thought, it's coming out of the blight." "Is it... the signal that controls the goo-bros," asked Finn? "Yes," said Nadia. "I think it is. I don't have the power personally to jam it, but I'm recording its parameters for study. We may be able to do something with it later." Turning away from the railing, she said, "let's get inside. I need to speak to the mayor."


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37:

The aircraft came swooping out of the sky at low altitude over the milling goo-bros. The mutants stared stupidly up at the strange object in mass confusion. Nominally, they were supposed to attack anything that moved. The strange _thing_ was far too fast and just too high to reach. At the controls, Nadia, the Grid-Face Princess, adjusted the flaps and trimmed the control surfaces. She'd never done this before. She imagined no-one had done this in more than a thousand years. It was utterly mad, but it was just the kind of thing her champion would propose.

In the back of the aircraft, Finn sat in the cab of the truck, hands poised at the controls. Beside him, an antsy Huntress sat strapped in and staring straight ahead in a state of abject terror. The wizard muttered, "you sure this will work, donk?" Sounding more confident than he felt, Finn replied, "ch'yeah, man! Did this before!" He'd done it with Nadia, and he was still trying to reassure the prickly wizard that he hadn't done anything else. E was still angry at him, but there were signs she was softening. He was always going to love her. That was just how he was. He just hoped she could accept 'friends'.

"Attention in the bay," announced Nadia! "We're approaching the target. Stand by." The massive ramp began to descend, revealing a crystal-blue sky. "That's my cue," announced Flint. "Good luck, man," Finn shouted, as the elemental strode for the door. Jumping out before going into full flaming mode, the burning man waved goodbye as the slipstream took him.

The blast of air felt deliciously painful. It was icy cold, and felt like the rush of ice-shards past his skin. The elemental took a moment to collect himself, fixing the target with his eyes. Then he dove on the creatures below, cutting a blazing swath through them. The goo creatures made his skin crawl. They were off-putting. Forcing himself to continue, Flint made three passes in rapid succession, clearing a broad swath of space on the ground. Soaring skyward once more, he drew his phone and reported his success. Now it was Finn's turn.

Taking a breath, Emeraude closed her eyes and said, "do it before I back out." As the aircraft swooped low over the scorched ground, Finn floored the accelerator. The truck tore out of the back of the plane. As they cleared the ramp, Finn triggered the bubble generator attached to the underside of the truck. The truck plummeted. With Rattleballs in back balancing the engine, the truck at least was falling upright. E clutched Finn's hand in a white-knuckle grip as the ground got closer and closer–rushing up to meet them.

And they bounced.

The truck bounced four times, reaching up to thirty feet in the air before coming to a stop. A large puff of smoke announced the death of the bubble-generator. Finn floored the pedal, and the truck lurched into motion. Grinning over at E, he gave her hand a squeeze. Blushing, the wizard laughed like a lunatic. And then it was time to get down to business. The goo-bros were recovering.

Just like Princess Nadia had said, there were tens of thousands of them out here in this wasteland. There were quite literally mutants everywhere. They moved as though they were all part of one living whole and that whole focused on eliminating the interlopers. The creatures moved to cut the truck off, and Finn did his best to avoid them, sawing the wheel back and forth. They lost if they got bogged down here. The goo-bros could pig-pile on the truck like they had Bonnie's ship, and eventually they'd get through. More to the point, even if they could escape, this was their best chance of getting close to the aliens and the radio tower.

"Starting the jammer," announced Emeraude. Grimly, Finn nodded. Nadia had analyzed the signal she picked up during the attack on the town, and she'd come up with a counter for it. That came in the form of a small device bolted to the dashboard and plugged into the truck's power supply. Now the wizard scrambled the signal, causing the goo-bros to go stupid a moment, just as it looked like they were going to close the gap. Finn roared through the gap, shouting and pumping his fist in excitement.

Of course they weren't quite out of the woods. As the truck roared along in the track Flint had made, more goo-bros were trying to fill in the hole. Nadia's jamming device had a pretty short range, after all. Standing in the bed of the truck and strapped down against the wild swerving and the shock of the fall from a thousand feet up, Rattleballs cut loose with volleys of blaster-fire, shredding any mutants that looked like they'd be in the way of the truck. They were getting closer. Finn's plan seemed to be working.

Up on the massive tower, the little engineer was fuming. The sight of these damned primitives defeating his carefully constructed defenses had made him angry enough to punch the control terminal. Gorg chuckled. The little shit always thought he had everything under control. He'd been sure that these local yokels could never get out here to challenge him. They were deep in a radioactive hotspot, and there shouldn't have been any way these primitives could survive long enough to reach this place. Even if they did, they would never get past the army of mutants he'd amassed. Honestly, even Gorg hadn't believed they could get past those things. He'd lost three men corralling a specimen.

"They're comin' fast," announced one of the crew. Which was to say Gorsh better start thinking quickly. If this was the same little bastard that had taken down Martin and caused their ship to crash, he was trouble with a capital T, and even Gorg wasn't happy to see another of those flame-creatures circling their transmitter array. "We're not ready," muttered Gorsh. He wasn't ready to move yet. He needed more time for the calculations. If Ket had been able to bring him more of those brain-computers, he would have been able to finish the work by now. Instead, the idiot had managed to get himself killed and take three of their defense-droids with him. Turning back to the terminal, the genius began dialing up the power on his control terminal. Over his shoulder, he commanded, "dispatch the flying squad!"

Trouble came to Flint's world in the form of four streaks of light. The arrogant elemental wasn't sure what he was seeing at first. He had never seen anything flying other than one of his people and very few of his folk were strong enough for that. He could count them on his fingers and toes. So long did he watch and ponder, he almost failed to realize he was in danger. Fortunately, just before the aliens unleashed their null-energy rays on him, his instinct for self-preservation kicked in, and the burning man began weaving and ducking, just in case.

Meanwhile a second quartet came streaking in low over the truck, laying down fire as they came. "Shields," growled Finn. "On it," Huntress shouted back! Twisting the handle on cow-tits's little box, she caused a glowing disc to appear before the windshield. It couldn't cover very much of the truck–not and still allow the truck to move–but it was better than the glass. Deftly the wizard guided that disc back and forth, deflecting the aliens' wrath while Rattleballs returned fire. The aliens blazed past, twisting and turning through the sky to come around from behind. At the same time goo-bros began to gather once more in front of the truck.

The wizard was trying to steer the forcefield disc to the rear when Finn said, "leave it front! Goo-bros! Dozens!" Huntress found herself juggling offense and defense at the same time as she hurled lightning and spell-arrows and blast-orbs into the packed ranks of goo-bros. At the same time, she tried to shield the truck's engine and tires from them as the truck slammed through bodies, hurling them this way and that. And then there were the aliens. As Finn wove back and forth through the ranks of mutants, the aliens tried to blast them to smithereens. "Didn't I say we should stop doing this," shouted the wizard?! "Ch'yeah, man," retorted Finn! "Like ten times now!"

The mass of goo-bros was getting thicker and thicker, and Finn was afraid the truck would bog down. The aliens were still making passes, and their gunfire was getting closer and closer, even as Huntress was forced to spend more and more time on offense. That was when Nadia's aircraft came swooping in to save the day.

The cyborg hottie had plugged into the airplane's command chair, enabling her to multi-task far more effectively. She'd been afraid of doing that in front of a man she'd hoped–still hoped–to win. Now with Finn off the plane, she could do what was needed. Deploying the aircraft's primary navigation antenna, Nadia began feeding the communications system a signal of her own design. Far more than a simple jamming signal, this one contained layers of instructions for the aliens' army. As Finn cheered, the goo-bros turned and charged the radio station.

Aboard the radio station, a horrified Gorsh gobbled in shock as his army turned their attention on _him_! "They've hijacked the signal," howled the little genius! Gorg decided that it was time he took charge of things. He'd played flunky for a while now, letting Gorsh think he was in charge of things. That was important for the little egomaniac, and that made it important for the other survivors. They needed that fucking transmitter! Now, though, with everything in jeopardy, it was time he stepped in.

Striding to the intercom, the massive alien keyed the mike and announced, "a sack of diamonds for the gunner who brings down that damned ship!" Moving towards the main console, he told the operators, "fire up the reactor. We're leaving." Gorsh howled, "we're not done with the calculations! We won't be able to aim the dish!" "We won't be able to aim it if it's destroyed, either," retorted Gorg!

Nadia was in the middle of her third pass when her ship's radio-sensors detected tightly focused radio-beams striking from several directions at once. She immediately swerved, turning hard right and then hard left as the aliens lit up the sky with bursts of focused microwaves that lit up the sky like artificial lightning. She was so close to the ground that maneuvering was difficult. Of course there was an upside. The blasts of focused energy tore through the ranks of goo-guys like a hot knife through butter, slaughtering the mutants by the hundred.

Finn howled laughter. They were actually clearing a path for him! Swerving around blasts of energy himself, he floored the pedal, accelerating through the gaping holes in the goo-bros lines. At the same time, Rattleballs downed one of the flying aliens. Moments later, Huntress blasted a second out of the sky.

Up on the radio-tower, Gorg tapped on the railing before him as he stared out at the trouble coming their way. "How long," he demanded? "Two minutes," replied the tech. "We're having to reconfigure the network. The organics aren't cooperating." "Shock them," growled Gorg! With a frown, the tech replied, "we could lose some of them." Without their bodies to absorb some of the strain, the brains were very delicate. "Shock them," repeated the massive alien.

Flint zipped by, darting directly through the superstructure. The last remaining alien pursuer misjudged the turn and slammed head-first into a steel support, dieing on impact. The elemental streaked out the far side, hurling fireballs at the guns as he did so. Seeing two aliens still harassing the truck, the young prince dove on them, hurling massive bolts of blue flame as he approached. Dodging around the flaming ruin that had been two living beings, Finn finally drew up on the tower.

Rattleballs was almost about to cut the cable securing him in the bed of the truck, and Huntress had already ditched her seatbelts when the giant tower gave out a tremendous groan. With a shriek of protesting metal, the huge thing began to move. Finn roared after it, but one of the heavy guns put a bolt of energy through the truck's hood, neutralizing its defenses and power plant all at once. In moments, the tower was moving at high speed, gathering momentum as it swayed and tottered across the landscape. "Fuck," howled Finn, as he jumped out of the cab of Bonnie's truck. Slamming the door, he gave vent to a stream of profanity.

"Hold that thought, donk," chuckled Emeraude. Drawing her phone, she dialed up cow-tits. "Hey, cow-girl," said the flippant wizard! "We need a pickup!" "Be there in a bit," said Nadia. "I'm busy dodging at the moment." Leaning back against the truck, the wizard said, "that wasn't half fucking bad, donk. Not bad at all." It was an opening. Staring at her, Finn found himself wanting to talk to her. At the same time, he knew that this wasn't the time. They still had to take down the tower, and they couldn't afford emotional entanglement right now.

Minutes later, the towering construct the aliens had built was out of range to fire at them, and Nadia was finally able to land. The trio from the truck grabbed their weapons and gear and raced for the rear ramp. As they ran aboard, Finn was on the phone with Flint, getting the scoop on what the aliens were doing. "Headed south, Finn," said the elemental! A burst of static interrupted the transmission. "You ok, buddy," asked Finn? "Shooting at me," replied Flint. He chuckled. They were getting rather wild. That said they were desperate–on the ropes. "Hang in there," said Finn, as he pressed the switch to close the ramp.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38:

"You really tore them up..."

Simone flushed. She hadn't known who to call when she was done securing the house. She'd spent the night in a state of terror, wondering if there were any more of these men lurking around. When morning came, she'd called Marceline–the one person she thought might have the connections to quietly sweep this under the rug. Which Marceline completely failed to understand.

"I don't understand why you don't just call Bonnie," rumbled the vampire. "I don't want Finn to know," retorted Simone. Which she'd said three times now. "It's not like you were cheating on him," said the vampire. "Right...?" The wizard drew herself up to her full height, and her eyes blazed. There was still a little Ice-Queen in her. "Don't get your panties in a knot," said the vampire. "Had to ask..." Severely, Simone told her, "if you must know... Finn's in the middle of tracking down the last of his father's flunkies. If he finds out that I've been attacked, he'll come rushing back. Flunkies get away. They call for help. Ooo gets blown up. Simple enough for you?"

The vampire flushed. She had some good points there. Marceline picked the last of the dead men up by his wrist in a negligent grip and carried him down the stairs. She looked almost like she was carrying a nasty diaper. When she'd moved the corpse, Simone got to work scrubbing the floor clean of his blood. She'd tried to keep the mess confined, but a couple of the ice-shards she'd conjured inside her opponents had pierced the skin. By the time Marceline had finished disposing of the problem, she'd scrubbed the spot clean. She was vaguely aware that in the distant past, before the Mushroom War, someone would have been able to detect traces of the stain with special chemicals, but Finn's inept troops would scarcely have known about that.

"So," said Marceline. "Will you tell him when he gets back?" Mopping at her brow with her sleeve, Simone replied, "would you?" Again the vampire flushed. This woman wasn't the happy-go-lucky babbling fool that Simon had become when the crown took his mind. She wasn't even the kind-hearted man who'd adopted Marceline and looked after her. She was shrewd and intelligent. The vampire would do well to remember that.

"Yeah," sighed Marceline, "the weenie would freak..." Finn would be a wreck, patrolling the grounds of the house day and night, and he'd never get _anything_ done. Calmer now, Simone said, "thanks for helping with this..." Floating on her back in mid-air with her arms crossed behind her head, the vampire replied, "no prob, bob..." "How'd you get rid of the corpses so fast anyway," asked the curious wizardess? With a negligent shrug, Marceline replied, "I had them dig their own graves. You should get lots of good fertilizer for your garden out of them..." "_Marceline_," howled Simone?!

Hundreds of miles away, Nadia maneuvered her airship between bolts of incandescent lightning as the aliens struggled to draw a bead on her. She'd spent a little time analyzing the signals from their targeting radars, and now she was able to twist their technology against them, deflecting their attempts to get a solid bead on her. The guns were now trying to fill the sky with fire in a vain attempt to tackle the airship. Unfortunately, they had_ two_ targets to deal with, and they couldn't get clean shots at either. Flint kept circling in and out, dodging gunfire to deliver stinging bolts of blue flame that melted portions of the heavy steel structure. The aliens had adapted Grid-Person shields to help with the defense, but some of the elemental's fire was still getting through.

Gorg paced the command deck, cussing and shouting at his minions, and even the little genius was bent over in terror from the threats he leveled. This was all heading south. He should have cut things off when the first raid failed. This disastrous state of affairs likely could have been avoided if they had finished the job with what they had. Gorsh had been mad to harvest as many 'computers' as he could get, even after their raiders failed. He'd wanted to finish the calculations swiftly, and waiting another six or seven days to align the damned antenna had him angry enough to spit.

Knowing that Martin's kid was somewhere in the vicinity had made Gorg very nervous. He wouldn't have dared Martin on a bet, and somehow that kid had taken the evil bastard down and lived to tell the tale. Gorg didn't give two fucks about whether or not the calculation took another six _months_. He wanted to get out of here in one piece, and now he realized he should have over-ruled the little shit. Above them, the burning man swooped in again, laying into the tower. Warning alarms blared, indicating that their main defense-shield was failing. The antenna array was in jeopardy now. If that damned ship of theirs had any weapons, they could do serious damage to it. Fortunately, so far they hadn't shown any.

Aboard the aircraft, Nadia took note of the gap in their defense. Flint had been as good as his word, providing distraction and now an opening for them to begin the attack. Keying the microphone, the princess announced, "it's now or never, Finn." "Got it," replied Finn. Then, "uh... Roger..." Nadia smiled, as she lowered the ramp. He was sweet, her champion. She just hoped he fucking survived this! This had to be the craziest thing yet–crazier even than the stunt with the truck!

As the Grid-Face Princess swooped down low over the towering antenna, she matched speeds as best she could with the rumbling construct, throwing the aircraft into a hover. This was very tricky. One false move could send her precious ship tumbling out of control. She could hit the tower or crash into the ground. That didn't even get into the risk of just being shot from the sky.

Finn took a deep breath as he took in the sight of the antenna. This was the craziest thing he'd ever done, and he wished Jake were here to see it. Hell, he wished Jake was here to help! He could really have used his bro's stretchy-powers right now. "Let's do this, donk," growled the wizard. Nodding, Finn stepped into the air. Almost immediately the slipstream took him. He had just enough time to offer a prayer to glob, and then he slammed face-first into the heavy iron antenna-dish.

The hero hit hard, and the force of the impact stunned him. He went sliding down the surface of the dish at high speed, towards a certain fall at the end. Digging deep, he fought off the cobwebs in his mind. As the pitted and rusty surface tried to scrape all the meat off his exposed skin, Finn conjured up one of the defense-disks. It sprang to life just below his feet. Gathering himself to a seated position, he climbed on top of it and did his best to steer it with his mind.

Leveling his crossbow, the hero took careful aim at one of the steel posts that jutted up from the surface of the dish. He fired the arrow that Huntress had put her special sauce on, and the bolt buried itself up to the fletchings in the metal. Now it was time for the sucky part. Finn cringed as the rope attach to the arrow payed out the last of its slack. His eyes crossed as the swiss-seat tied around his butt clenched tight, squishing his nads a little.

Moments later, he heard rather than saw Emeraude come sliding down the dish. Flicking his face up to where he expected to see her, he locked eyes with the pretty wood-nymph. There was a look of sheer terror on her face, and he knew she was in trouble. Conjuring one of the defense discs he caught her and slowed her down. Swinging out, he grabbed for her hand as she went by and caught it. The additional weight bearing down on the swiss-seat constricted the ropes tighter around his mid-section, and Finn squealed like a woman.

Cussing like a sailor, Finn levered his ex-girlfriend up and swung her over towards the platform Nadia had spotted on one of her loops around the radio-dish. Recovered from her terror, the wizard grabbed the railing and pulled herself onto the platform. Finn pulled himself up next and, with the aid of his dagger, severed the rope. Rattleballs would be joining them in a minute. "Aliens," growled Emeraude. She could hear them coming up from below. Finn was waving Nadia off. With Rattleballs on the antenna now and working his way down to the platform, she could get clear.

As Finn watched, the aircraft dove for the ground, accelerating as it went, and then tore out of there as if all the demons of the Night-O-Sphere were chasing it. Finn joined the little beauty at the edge of the platform. The aliens were close now. He could hear them talking. There were two ways onto this platform–if you didn't count the way they'd just come–and the aliens had both covered. Coming up with a quick plan, Finn whispered instructions at his partner. This was going to get almost as crazy as getting on the radio dish in the first place.

As the aliens came rushing up the stairs, spraying the platform from two directions at once, the two heroes dove over the side. Finn landed on the platform below, but Huntress missed, barely catching the railing. Finn's heart leaped into his throat at the sight of his on-and-off girlfriend hanging there in mid-air, but he knew he had to finish this fast. There was no time for worries. Rushing the closer of the two aliens, with the Finn sword and his personal forcefield deflecting bolts of red light, Finn got right up on the alien and cut him down, slicing him in half from his right collar to his left hip. Finn quickly spun about to face the other alien as his assailant realized where the interlopers had gone. Finn rushed him, deflecting gunfire. As the alien tried to draw a bead, gunfire from behind cut him to pieces, shredding his body in a gory display. "Thanks, Rattleballs," shouted Finn, as he rushed back to E.

He found the wizard hanging on by her fingertips. Finn reached down and hauled her back to the platform. No sooner had he pulled her to safety, than the wizard shrugged off his hand, stood up, and started walking for the next set of stairs. She was angry at him. Still. They were no closer to reaching an agreement on ending their affair. It was hurting him to see her like this, but what was he going to say? They couldn't keep doing this. He was cheating on his wife, and he was using _her_. "Let's get this done," the wizard muttered. With no other recourse, Finn set out after her.

Raising his phone to his ear, Finn asked the circling elemental, "where we at, Flint?" "You're two levels down from the antenna," came the quick reply. "You're a hundred feet from the next stairs. There's four guns on this level, one at each corner..." "Roger," replied Finn. Turning to Rattleballs, Finn said, "let's go, buddy. Everybody keep low. There's guns and aliens down below us too."

The pair worked their way across a long catwalk with Finn deflecting gunfire the whole way. The aliens below hammered away with their blasters, while the four gunners continued to try and smoke Flint. Finally, Finn and his team reached the catwalk at the right rear corner of the machine. They found a frog-faced alien there splitting his time between shooting at the flying elemental and shooting at them. As they got in range, Finn suddenly dropped his defenses, letting Huntress reach out and smoke the alien. Striding forward, Finn took command of the platform as a half dozen aliens came rushing across from two of the other gun platforms.

Rattleballs took the platform at the front, while Finn and the wood-nymph warrior took the one at the left rear. Flinging defense discs left and right, the Finn-Sword flailing, the hero rushed the other platform. The aliens took a tight formation, some kneeling, some on foot, and one even laying prone on the deck aiming at Finn's feet. Finn could feel Nadia's gift straining as it deflected those deadly bolts of energy. One by one E picked off the aliens. As they got closer and the alien gunfire got more intense, the fearless madwoman even jumped off the catwalk and onto a nearby platform, hurling lightning bolts into their midst, causing one man to even jump off the platform to his death.

As the pair took possession of the gun platform, Finn turned to his ex-girlfriend and said, "I-I'm sorry, E." "We're in a fight, donk," muttered the wizard. The hero retorted, "I need to say this stuff while we're still alive to say it." Emeraude ignored him. Walking up behind her, he stopped, just outside of arms reach and stood staring at her. "I... we can't keep doing this, E," said Finn. "You know we can't..." "I don't care," rumbled Emeraude. "_E_," Finn protested. "You always fucking do this," snarled Huntress!

As he stared at her back, he could hear her crying. Hesitantly, he put a hand to her shoulder, trying to comfort her. She jerked away from him. "This is my time," she sobbed! "This should be _my_ time. She gets everything else!" Finn flushed. He knew who she was, and he was a little startled by those words. At the same time, the aliens were coming, having been flushed off the other platform by Rattleballs. They were about to be in it, and now Finn moved to the front, raising their defenses, playing meatshield while the woman he cared so much for did her best to keep them alive.

The aliens were in a panic as the war-machine chased them across that rusty steel, guns blazing. Finn had to be careful not to get smoked by his friend as the blaster-bolts came thick and fast. When the aliens were within range, the wizard hurled a blast-orb into the packed group of aliens, killing all but one. Finn ran that last man through, watching the terror fade from his eyes as he passed from life.

Emeraude was sweating, and Finn could see the strain on her face. She was at the limit. They all were. "You gonna' make it," he asked? "Fine," snarled the wizard. She pushed past him, saying, "coming, Rattleballs?" The war-droid set out after the wizard. With a heavy sigh, Finn fell in behind the two of them. He'd screwed this up, and he still didn't know how to get out of this. Whether against each other or the aliens, it seemed all they had was the fight.

Flint was still circling the platform, with the aliens still hammering away at him, and he helped the crew as they worked their way from level to level, eliminating the aliens one by one. They found them at their posts, manning the guns, and they found them patrolling or lying in ambush. Finn or Huntress or Rattleballs ruthlessly shot, stabbed, or blasted them to pieces. All the while, the massive machine rumbled and tottered across the landscape. The structure beneath their feet shuddered, and the steel groaned, telling Finn that this machine the aliens had cobbled together had never been intended to do _this_. He was afraid they wouldn't get off this thing alive. At the same time, it was one more arrow in the quiver. If they couldn't get to the control booth and stop it the easy way, he could always force it to crash.

The deeper they went, the stronger resistance got as more and more aliens came piling on. They were desperate, and they let loose extravagant amounts of firepower in a determined and concerted effort to bring down their tormentors. Finn could _feel _the strange gadget Nadia gave him faltering. A sense in his mind was telling him that it couldn't take much more of the pounding. At the same time, they were starting to run out of other options. An exhausted Flint retired from the field to rest, dropping back at last when the last of the weapons stations quit shooting at him. Chugging along towards the endgame, the others carried on best they could, but when they encountered the robots, Finn knew they'd more or less reached the end of the road.

They were standing on one end of a narrow walkway. On the far side was the control booth. And in the way were four of the deadly robots that had caused him such grief in town. "Got anymore arrows," asked Finn? "Tapped out, donk," replied Huntress. "We're boned," muttered the hero. There was no way the Finn-Sword alone would get them past those robots. "I can try," rumbled Rattleballs. Finn knew exactly what he was thinking. He could block their fire–survive it–for several minutes. It was maybe enough time to get them across the bridge. And then he'd be pretty much dead. "Not yet, buddy," muttered Finn.

"Finn," rumbled the machine. "You have a brood of offspring. You must survive to nurture them until they are fully grown. I am a machine..." "You're my friend," retorted the hero, "so let's drop it. I need to think this through." The hero found a corner that was sheltered from fire. He wracked his brain a long few minutes as the robots fired, and the machine thundered across the landscape, creaking and groaning as it went.

He thought of swinging like Tarzan on a rope, but it was obvious they'd just be shot off the rope. He thought of just bumrushing the aliens, but there was no way he could block so many gunshots at once. They had sixteen guns total! The more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was no way to get across and live to tell the tale.

_So what else can we do,_ thought the hero. They couldn't get to the other platform. There was just one bridge and four robots covering it. They had the three of them, but Huntress was almost out of weapons herself. Flint was out of the fight. The only other person they had was Nadia, and he wasn't sure he would have risked the Princess's life that way. Still, they were running out of options. Finn drew his phone, speed-dialed the princess and said, "hey, Nadia... It's me, Finn. We're pinned down here. There's four more of those robots, and they're blocking our way. Can you do something? Maybe a distraction?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Finn waited with baited breath. They all did. And then Grid-Face Princess responded with, "I have something even better... Give me a moment..." Finn waited as, on the other end of the line, Nadia went deep into a meditative state. They'd silenced the guns. For the moment, she was safe enough flying straight and level. Programming the autopilot, she entered a trance and went digging.

It didn't take long to find the first nodes. Just as she suspected, the monsters who had murdered her people hadn't bothered removing their communicators. Now she had a second hunch to play. It was painful connecting to the minds on the other side of those modems on a physical and spiritual level. Some had gone quite mad, their minds overwhelmed by the horrors inflicted on them. Others felt like sumps of anger and grief. Still others were lost in their pain and the desire not to experience that pain again.

The princess did her best to work quickly. She didn't have forever with this. Each moment of contact risked her getting pulled into the maelstrom. If that happened, she'd be as lost as they were. Locating a few isolated nodes of sanity, she reached out, identifying herself, "this is Princess Nadia. I know what's been done to you. I promise your murderers will pay the consequences for your suffering, but right now I need your help..."

Aboard the platform, Gorsh was in quite a state. They had only a handful of survivors left. All their plans had come apart. The only thing holding the enemy at bay was their unreliable battle-bots. He didn't know how things could be worse. Even Gorg seemed to have abandoned him. As the little genius wracked his brain for a solution, a shout announced things had just gotten _worse_. Gorsh ran across to the master steering console to find the display painted with a sea of yellow. "What the fuck are you doing," howled the alien intellect?! "It ain't me," retorted the driver! "The fucking brains quit working!" "Get them back online," shouted Gorsh! "I'm trying," the terrified driver replied! But the mutant brains they were using as expert-systems to control their cobbled together mobile radio station were in full rebellion, refusing to respond to any commands and allowing the system to slowly drift out of alignment.

The creaking and groaning of distressed steel increased, and they could hear several thunderous pops and bangs like gunshots as rivets gave way and went flying. The front steering arms were getting further and further out of alignment, and if nothing was done, they would reach a point of no return. "Apply the shock," snarled Gorsh! "Apply the shock!" "Been shocking the shit out of them," howled the terrified alien! Then, as the banging got louder, he simply jumped up and ran like hell, leaving Gorsh at the console. Hearing the terrifying sounds of their ride breaking up, the aliens all fled.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39:

The dissolution of the alien machine came fast.

The massive machine began to shudder and shake under their feet. As the robots increased their fire and even began walking towards them, the machine's juddering and violent shaking threatened to throw Emeraude Baudin from her feet. Finn caught her when she would have fallen. Backpedaling, the trio did their level best to find shelter as walkways and even whole beams began to shift and buckle underneath their feet. Far from being concerned with stopping the strange contraption, Finn was worried now about having it come apart with them onboard. Sheltering behind a rusted steel panel, the young hero made frantic calls for help from the princess as he tried to bodily shield Emeraude from the killer robots. Rattleballs killed one, blasting through a thin spot in its armor, but the rest kept coming.

Up on the airship, Nadia frantically tried to get the minds controlling the robots to stop what they were doing. Unfortunately, they were utterly insane. Maddened by pain and lost in a whirlwind of rage, it seemed rather like they lived in some primitive plane of existence. The beautiful princess had all she could manage just trying to stave off their madness herself. When she touched their thoughts, all she wanted to do was kill and destroy! She felt one set of three die. They dropped off the net as surely as if you snuffed a candle. That gave the others momentary pause, and the tall princess redoubled her efforts, begging them–pleading with them–to step back from the edge.

In the midst of her pleading and cajoling, she suddenly found herself experiencing a sensation like vertigo. She felt like she was falling. In moments, the aircraft was plummeting as her conscious mind fought with the sensations streaming straight into her subconscious. Terrified, she began trying to break free, fighting her way out of the link. Those broken souls held on, refusing to let go. They were torn now between vengeance and death and the terror of their own destruction, and they begged their princess to save them.

On the radio-station, Emeraude heard a thunderous boom that shook the entire structure, and time seemed to stand still as she caught her breath. Then, as she stared around her in fear, the giant machine began to topple. One moment she was standing on the rusted grating that was the deck. The next, she was sliding along the suddenly-vertical decking towards the distant ground. The wood nymph scrabbled for purchase, clawing at the rusty surface as Death tried for her.

As she finally got a handhold, one of the killer robots decided to grab her by the leg, and almost immediately she started losing her grip. At the same time, the robot's guns began to swivel to aim at her. The wood-nymph kicked and shoved at the death-machine with her feet, trying to force those guns out of line and trying to break the grip on her ankle. It hurt. The robot's grip was like iron, and the pain was tremendous. For all her efforts at keeping the thing from shooting her, she couldn't help wondering why it hadn't just blasted her to bits yet.

Before the robot could open fire, Finn came sliding by. Catching hold of the steel decking with one hand, he sliced the Finn-Sword through the robot's head and jammed the blade into its neck for good measure. And then they were all falling. Emeraude's fingers finally lost the battle, and she went tumbling after the robot. Down, down, down they fell, while the massive radio-station continued to break up around her. Jagged bits of steel flashed by, and the wood-nymph ended up just closing her eyes to wait for the end. Either she'd find herself impaled on some jagged piece of metal or she'd be smashed on the ground. Either way, it would all be over.

She knew regret then. For the first time in her life, she knew regret. She regretted the way she'd pursued her life. She'd run off from her family, and she'd cut ties with the world they lived in. She didn't regret that for a moment. At the same time, she would have turned her skills to living life instead of taking it. She would have changed her stars and done something meaningful. She knew in that moment that Finn had no regrets. He'd done just what he set out to do–saving the world for all the people he loved.

She felt a sensation like an impact, but much softer. It was like falling onto a puddle of jello, and then she felt like she was flying again. Momentarily she hit something a lot harder. This impact came with a sound like meat thumping against stone, and she was sure she'd bought it. That was when she heard the crying. Slowly the wizard opened her eyes and looked up.

He was crying.

She'd seen Finn crying before. She'd held him while he cried over the ugly turtle-girl in the library. This time he was holding her. He was laying on his back, and she was laying on top of him. Finn was holding her so tight it was almost painful, and he was blubbering into her hair. "I'm ok, baby," she murmured. Pulling herself free of his grip, she knelt over him. Taking his face in her hands she stared deep into those beautiful blue peepers of his. "I'm ok, Finn," she breathed. His face went red hot, and she watched the play of his emotions across his face.

Ooo was safe. The aliens were all dead. They were all gone, and somehow Emeraude wasn't hurt. Grateful as he hadn't been since the day he found Simone alive and unhurt after they disposed of the Ice-Tiara, Finn would have gathered the wood-nymph into his arms and held her tight. He loved her, and he had felt a piece of him die when she fell off the platform. At the same time, they were still having an illicit affair, and he was still married to a woman he was still madly in love with.

Brushing his cheek with her hand, the wood-nymph advised him, "let it out, baby. What do you feel?" Finn looked for a moment, like he might choke. Then, hesitantly, he said, "lucky..." Looking deep into her eyes, he admitted, "I get so crazy when I think you might be hurt..." He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close again. Those words–and the feel of his arms around her–opened the floodgates, and the wood-nymph cried into his chest. He was back. Her dear, sweet man was back. "I'm sorry," burbled the wizard. "I'm sorry for what I said..." "It's alright," murmured Finn.

When Emeraude glanced up at his face, she found that little had changed. Her wonderful man looked so conflicted–as if this might well be killing him. Finn tried to look away, but the wood nymph caught his face and held it. Laughing through her tears, she told him, "this moment is ours. You can be a good husband when you get home." Leaning down, she kissed those sweet lips, finding them just as rough and chapped as always. She started grinding her hot little body against his, and Finn strove mightily not to give in. That made her laugh. She actually laughed.

"Take me, baby," she commanded. "B-but," babbled Finn. "I missed you," said the wizard-woman. "You haven't touched me in weeks." Which pretty much told him that they weren't going to be leaving here until he'd done a whole lot of touching. Slipping his tongue into her mouth, Finn savored the taste of his crazy girlfriend. At the same time, he grabbed a handful of her hot little ass, squeezing the firm, hard muscle. She started wriggling her hips and grinding her snatch against him.

Breaking that kiss, Finn spun her around. His left hand came up and cupped her left booby, stroking and caressing it. His right hand slipped down along her belly and cupped her snatch through her pants. Emeraude let out a gasp. Closing her eyes, she reached back between them and stroked his fat dick, feeling it start to get hard beneath her fingers. Fearful and anxious that they'd be caught at this and hungry to have her at the same time, Finn unbuttoned her pants and shoved them down. Slipping his fingers into the front of her panties, he began to rub her button, running a finger up and down her slot at the same time.

Her head turned this way and that. Jaw hanging and eyes closed, Emeraude moaned in heat as her boyfriend began to work her over. The hand caressing her boobies unbuttoned her top, slowly baring her skin to the hot dusty air. Finn nibbled and sucked on her throat as he slid a finger in and out of her gooey snatch, feeling her getting wetter and wetter. "Yes, baby," whined Emeraude. "You do it so good..." Her hips started wriggling again, grinding her sex into his hand. Her fingers squeezed his dong as she continued to tug on it. Knowing that he'd end up shooting off in his pants if he let her keep that up, Finn pulled her hand away before going back to undressing her.

Her top fell open to reveal a plain linen bra–rugged working clothes for a trip to a wasteland. He was almost disappointed, but a corner of his mind was certain that she had something nicer in her bag somewhere. She always did. Popping the catch in the front, he let her sexy little boobies spring out, the nips standing out hard. His left hand rolled the hard right nip between his thumb and forefinger, causing her to whine deep in her throat. It was the sound that told him she was getting close. Maybe she was as horny as he was. He knew she liked screwing a lot, and they hadn't really done anything in a while.

"Uh... uh... ooaaahhh," wailed the wood-nymph. She was shaking and shivering. Finn brought his nasty right hand to his mouth and licked the fingers clean. "Shit, you like doing that," moaned the wood-nymph. "You taste good," Finn replied. Her mouth came open in shock, but Finn was already moving on. The hero bent and jerked her pants and panties down around her ankles, then pulled her down on her knees. With a hand on her shoulder, he shoved her forward, until she was on her hands and knees. Her honey-pot was dripping. "Take me, baby," moaned Emeraude.

Finn fished his stiff dong out of his pants, struggling with his underwear the whole way. E's butt was rocking from side to side as if she couldn't wait. Pressing his knob against her opening, Finn thrust with his strong hips, shoving the fat thing into her. "Ooaoaaaa," howled the sexy wizard-woman. Hearing that loud cry, Finn fished the handkerchief out of his pocket and stuffed it into her mouth. Drawing back, he stuck her again, shoving the fat dick in deeper. Throwing back her head, Huntress screamed into the gag. Wrapping his arms around her, he got his hands on her plump knobs, which just did even more damage. In moments she was a squealing, drooling mess. His hips slapped into that hot little bottom of hers, making a clapping sound, while he toyed with her tasty little knobs.

Her body wriggled in his arms, and she screamed and squealed as Finn railed the shit out of her. Slipping his right hand down between her sexy thighs, he started rubbing her button, and that really drove her ape. Her hands clawed at his wrist. Finn quit playing with her button in favor of grabbing her wrists and pulling her arms behind her back. Her back arched as she climaxed again, and she saw sparks before her eyes. Holding her wrists in one hand, Finn went back to playing with her boobies, squeezing them hard enough that mommy-juice came squirting out, something that surprised him. For Huntress, it was the fulfillment of another fantasy. It was just like the day in Silent Jay's bar. Head thrashing, the wood-nymph went over again, screaming long and loud. The feel of her squeezing him caused her boyfriend to go over too. Biting her shoulder, Finn shot his goo into her.

Releasing her arms, Finn leaned back. He still held her hot little body in his arms. Drawing his hand up to his lips, he licked the strange yellowish 'milk' off his palm. It had the consistency of honey, but it was almost unbearably bitter–like strong tea. Huntress slowly got her breath back. Blinking stupidly, she belatedly pulled the rag out of her mouth. That was almost as crazy as their first time together, and she wanted it again. Having missed his touch the last few weeks–and having seen him rail the shit out of Doctor Princess–she was more hungry for it than at the start.

The sound of shifting metal shocked the two back to their senses. Almost falling backwards in his mad haste to untangle himself, Finn bent and jerked his pants back up, fastening them so quickly he missed one of the buttons. Huntress set a record for getting back into her clothes, and she completely forgot to fasten her bra. She ended up lacing up her tunic with the bra still hanging loose underneath as they heard their friend call out, "Finn the Human? Huntress Wizard? Are you still functional?" "Over here," called Finn.

Minutes passed, as the robot clambered over and through the wreckage. When he finally reached them, he looked much the worse for wear, with one of his weapons smashed, and deep scars scoured into his candy-steel hide. "It is good to see you, Finn the Human," said the robot. "Glad t'see you too buddy," said Finn. He gave the robot a fist-pound. Turning back to the wreckage, the war-machine said, "we should destroy the remnant of the transceiver to be certain." "Sure," said Finn. Nodding at the wizard, Finn said, "c'mon, E. Let's go bust-up this gadget."

The threesome set out, with Finn and Huntress following Rattleballs back towards the center of the machine and the remnant of the command center. Noting the way the wizard limped, the machine asked, "are you injured, Huntress?" Grinning devilishly, the wizard replied, "nope. Never been better."

Nadia found them camped out beside the wreckage an hour later. Circling down, ever-heedful of the risk of ambush, the stacked princess brought her aircraft in for a gentle landing. No sooner had the aircraft touched down, than Princess Nadia was coming down the forward stairs looking worried. Finn was glad to see her. They'd lost track of the ship during all the confusion of the radio station's last moments. He'd feared that somehow the station had fallen on her ship or she'd crashed or something. Now, he met her halfway between her ship and the wreck. The Princess threw her arms around him and kissed him for all she was worth.

Finn let her. He was getting used to that. It was what it was. Girls liked him. There were a lot worse problems a dude could have. Even Huntress was getting used to it. "Where were you," he asked? Softly, she admitted, "I was trying to interface with the minds on the radio-platform. I tried to get them to help us..." Finn knew immediately which 'minds' she was talking about. It didn't exactly sound like a safe idea, and he was immediately angry. His fears were confirmed when she admitted, "I... I got lost in their pain. I almost couldn't find my way back out..." The ship had been on autopilot, flying in circles for the last three hours.

Finn's face went red hot, and he shook the shit out of her, shouting, "don't you ever do that again! What the fuck, Nadia?! You could have been killed!" "She's ok, Finn," interrupted Emeraude as she stopped alongside him. She knew what was ailing him. The thought of having anybody he cared about suffer, much less be hurt, was intensely and personally painful for him. He was reckless with his own life, but the lives of his loved ones and friends? Never. Stroking his arm gently, she reminded him, "we're all ok. She did the right thing." Calming himself, Finn stepped back from the stacked princess, giving her a good look at what they'd accomplished today. With a whistle of amazement, she opined, "impressive as ever, my Champion." Finn gave her a grin. Clearing her throat, the wood-nymph wizard announced, "we have a bit of a problem, though."

Striding forward towards the wreck, Nadia asked, "and that would be?" Huntress retorted, "while you were circling the drain, we found a pair of tracks headed east." The princess spun around with a look of terror on her pretty face. "We need to track these guys down," said Finn. "I don't know what else might be out east..." A frown twisting her lovely face, Nadia replied, "Mandatory Truthful Response Field Emitter and Po..." "TFPP lives out there," interrupted Finn? Blushing and grinning, Nadia replied, "thanks, Finn... Yes, she's a good friend of mine... More to the point, her people also have a fair amount of technology..." "But they're a thousand miles off," interrupted Emeraude. "There's even an ocean separating their island from the mainland."

Finn's knees buckled at the mere mention of the ocean. Nevertheless, he reminded his girlfriend, "they built this whole biz, E. And we know they had smaller machines to ride on." "But it was a land machine," said Nadia. With a thoughtful expression, the pretty princess opined, "we can get ahead of them. I can extrapolate where they'll go, and we can leapfrog them." Right now, it was growing dark, they were still out in the wastelands, and she wanted them inside her ship where they would be safer from the radiation.


	40. Chapter 40

**A little service for the lemon-lovers.**

Chapter 40:

The tracks were headed towards Scraptown. That was the best Nadia could tell them. The aliens were tracking towards the mutant town that lay east of the deadly, radioactive wasteland that sat at the heart of her domain. Scraptown was an anomaly in her kingdom. It was run by and for the lawless mutants, having been captured by them centuries ago. Now it acted as an essential safety-valve, giving the mutants a safe-haven where they need not fear being eradicated by the Grid-Face people. At the same time, the mutants weren't out wandering the wastes looking for people to butcher for fun and profit.

A cadre of Grid-Face Enforcers looked after the town, periodically sweeping it clean of the worst of the criminal element. The remainder did their best not to attract too much attention, even as they raided old technology sites and visited ruined cities and towns in the frozen tundra to the east. Those things got traded in a sort of marketplace for discerning Grid-Face people who were interested in the tech of the past. It was how Nadia had come to own the fabulous aircraft that she flew. The mutants had led her people to the carcass out in the wastes.

More to the point, if the aliens were headed there, the threat wasn't over yet. It would take time to dig through the wreckage of the transmitter station to see if Gorsh's corpse was underneath. Even did they recover his body, there was no real way to be sure who he was. It wasn't as though the aliens had nametags after all. The only true safety lay in arresting–or killing–every single alien who'd come on that ship. They had to kill all they found.

Just now Finn and his beautiful companion were camped short of Scraptown, ready to go walking in the following morning to have a look around. Neither Nadia nor Rattleballs could go. They would stand out just too much, and Nadia would be at risk of kidnap. Grid-Face people who came here always came in a pack to avoid being snatched and sold for a slave. Nadia would be worth a pretty penny both for her beauty and for what she represented to her people.

Just now Finn was staring into the camp fire. Even after their reconciliation a couple of days ago, he was still a little ambivalent about how things were going with Emeraude. He'd tried back-tracking, but she would just put her hand to his mouth or shut him up with her lips. If that wasn't enough, Nadia had tried luring him to her bed last night too. In spite of her words–that she just wanted to talk–Finn knew there couldn't be anything good coming out of being in her room late at night. Worse, he feared she suspected he was bangin' E. She'd suggested that maybe they could work something out.

Finn was certain E had overheard them talking. She hadn't said a word after the fact, but she would stare at Nadia like she wanted to hurt the taller woman. It was like she was doing everything in her power to squelch the awful feelings of anger and jealousy inside her, even when Nadia pushed just too damned far. So Finn was upset about that too. It bothered him when E was unhappy, and he knew his relations with other girls was buggin' her. Honestly, thinking back, he feared it bothered Simone too.

There were... _signs_ there. Simone had quickly gotten bent out of shape when he mentioned taking Canyon on a motorcycle ride. He'd smoothed that over with her by explaining that Canyon was a giant, just like Billy. Still, the damage was done. She had never looked at Bonnie and Marceline the same after that.

Sitting nearby, Emeraude found herself confronted with an enigma. Something was bothering him. She could clearly see that something was bothering him and had been since before they set out. She hadn't gotten to sleep with him the last couple of nights. Even if they hadn't had cow-tits making passes at him, the bunks in their little room were just too damned small. She'd nearly fallen off, and she was on the bottom bunk. Unfortunately, that meant no pillow-talk and no real chance to put her proposal in front of him.

She was walking carefully now that she had him back. She'd done a lot of soul searching since the fight on the rig and even before. Finn was a good man and a natural charmer. He could probably have charmed any girl he met out of her panties and had her eating from his hand. On top of that, he was the most famous hero in the land. It stood to reason that women threw themselves at him. It wasn't as though he was actually _trying_. He'd done everything but tell cow-tits to fuck-off. The problem wasn't _him_. It was the steamy horde of sluts wanting to ride his dick. She would have to get used to that. _You_ will_ get used to it,_ she decided.

She had a proposal to make, and she hoped it would assuage his fears. It wasn't quite what she wanted, but it was better than the nothing she'd been looking at a few days ago. She'd been working her way up to it–trying to–but the time wasn't right. Their situation was still doubles-or-nothing dire, with their necks on the line, and she needed him focused on taking out these last two creeps, not worrying about her.

Or Simone.

_So it waits,_ thought the wood-nymph. In the now, they had this night–one more chance for her to show him how much she loved him. With a sigh, she lay her head against his and took his hand. This was their time. She didn't want him thinking about some piece of garbage who would soon be in a nameless grave somewhere. "Baby, we only get tonight," she murmured. The hero blushed to his hair. In spite of all his efforts–all the emotional energy he'd expended–he was back _here_. He was back in this place with this strange woman by his side.

And he wanted her.

He felt awful, and at the same time he felt such a _hunger_. Turning to face her, he found himself staring into her beautiful green eyes. Huntress smiled at him. She wasn't wearing the mask tonight, and her eyes were bewitching. He found himself _falling_ in their depths. Emeraude stroked his chest with her free hand as she leaned in and kissed him. Slowly, she kissed his mood away, and Finn began to respond. His arms slipped around her, and he held her to him. His fingers glided up and down her back. Breaking that kiss, the wood-nymph touched her forehead to his and sighed. "Let's not worry about the _job_," she whispered.

That wasn't at all what he was thinking of, but he kept that to himself. Instead, Finn took her face in his hands and kissed her soft lips. As the two swapped spit, she rubbed her body against his. Silently she urged him to take the next step. He was always so hesitant to do that. Why was he always so hesitant? He made it feel a lot like she was having to _take_ affection from him. She was his girlfriend. Why did he hesitate?

"_Finn_," she complained. "You know it's ok if you..." Finn blushed. She'd never complained about the way he touched her. She'd complained that he almost made her _beg_. Reaching out, he unlaced her top and began to undress her. Emeraude lay her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes as he began to make love to her. His hands stroked her pert boobies, sending shivers of desire shooting through her. He knew just what she liked. Her breath came in hot pants, hissing out through her clenched teeth as he got her hotter and hotter.

Finn could hear her whining as he worked her tender little boobies over. They filled his hands nicely, and he stroked the nips with his thumbs. "Oooaah," moaned the sexy wood-nymph. She slipped her arms around his shoulders and lay back, pulling him down on top of her. Finn pressed his face into her chest and started teasing and tormenting her boobs and stroking her soft skin. He could hear the changes in the way she breathed that told him she was getting more and more turned on. Her body was wriggling around under him. Leaning to his right, he sucked hard on her left knocker, making her scream. Her hands clawed at his shoulders.

Finn left off what he was doing in favor of stripping her the rest of the way. It was a little cool, but he could ably keep her warm for a little while. First one boot and then the other got tossed aside. Then he unfastened her belt and pants. Hooking his fingers into her pants at either hip, he pulled both pants and panties down with one motion. Huntress raised her butt to help him. Now he had her completely naked before him.

Finn leaned in and sniffed her scent, going from her hot crack up the curve of her belly to her cute little belly-button and back. Then he ran his tongue across her skin, tasting her sweat, and even swirling the tip around inside her belly-button, making her shiver. His hands stroked her flanks, teasing her skin and edging towards her boobies but never quite making contact. She had more powerful orgasms when he teased. The longer he kept her frustrated, the harder it hit her.

The young hero continued to torment the beautiful older woman, teasing her perky boobies off and on, flicking the hard nips with his fingers, driving her crazy. They were very sensitive today, even more than usual. Just his touch against the skin around her nips was enough to have her hips jumping and her body wriggling around. By the time he even got to her snatch, she was practically dripping.

Sniffing her gooey crack, Finn got that familiar, _earthy_ scent that told him she was really turned on. The first dribbles of her hot maple syrup were already making her hot honey-pot glisten. Finn took an experimental swipe with his tongue, finding her taste had changed subtly. It wasn't quite as sweet as before, and it was thinner somehow. It didn't really matter. He still liked the taste, and he began to give her a rather noisy tongue-bath, slurping her hot goo up. Her hands clawed at his hair and her head thrashed as he went down on her. He was really fucking good at it, and he drove her straight up the wall. Her grandmother used to say that good dick could make a slave out of her, and Emeraude was inclined to agree as, body shaking and head flailing, she went over the edge one last time.

Finn eased her slim thighs apart, then knee walked up between them. "Yes, baby," she burbled. "Please do it..." Finn pressed his dong against her opening and eased it into her. Her hands clawed at his wrists now and she slipped those sleek legs around his waist as slowly he eased the hard log into her. Having had a chance at her a few days before, he wasn't so frantic now, and he took his time.

Slowly the handsome hero rode her, his rod tormenting her button and sending jolts of desire up her spine. It didn't take long before she had her legs twined with his, her arms around his shoulders, and her tongue shoved into his mouth as Finn worked her over good. Higher and higher she soared, feeling her pleasure rise. He was going so slow, holding out against the squeeze of her snatch, and that was driving her crazy too. Breaking the kiss, Finn bent and started sucking on first one plump booby then the other, biting and sucking at the hard nips and teasing her flesh with his tongue and hands. "Shiiiit," howled the sexy wood-nymph as she felt him sucking milk from her boobies.

Finn was a little startled to get a steady stream of the strange juice from E's boobies. Strangely enough it was a little sweeter now, and he was kind of getting used to the tart taste. It was like good lemonade–tart with a little sweetness. "Ooohh-ho-ho," howled Emeraude as she felt him sucking hard on her sensitive nips. Her hands clawed him hard enough to draw blood, even though she mostly had no fingernails to speak of.

Moving to a sitting position, Finn pulled her to him and began to ride her small body up and down his hard dong, and that really drove her crazy. Her eyes went wide as pie-plates, and she began to scream and squeal with every thrust he gave her. His hands squeezed her hard little ass, leaving hand prints on both cheeks. Strangely enough his encounter with Imgwesh had opened his mind to new things, and he'd kind of gotten to realizing that E liked it rough. The rougher he was, the more she liked it. For Simone, it was kind of a fun thing to do as a change of pace, but she didn't routinely want him mauling her big boobies. E liked him to bit her painfully hard or to squeeze them until she wanted to scream.

Finn began to go faster and faster, and he really couldn't resist sticking his finger in her butt the way he'd done it that night. The feel of that sent her crashing over the edge. She almost ended up smashing her face into his collarbone. Finn shot his stuff into her and all but fell over backwards with her still stuck on his dick. For a long, long while they lay that way, even as the fire began to burn down and the air got cooler. Knowing they needed warmth and shelter, Finn extricated himself from her embrace.

He went to their packs, got out the sleeping bags and zipped them together. Then coming back to his girlfriend, he picked E up, slipped her into the sleeping bags and bundled her up. After that, he went around the camp, setting up his usual tripwires and alarms before banking the coals in the firepit and crawling in after his girl. She immediately threw herself on him, laying her head against his chest and wrapping her arms and legs around his.

Huntress slept like a baby. Finn lay awake staring into the darkness, thinking about the mad situation he was in. What in glob's name was wrong with him? Why couldn't he say no? He was afraid of the answer. It wasn't just getting to screw the shit out of the very beautiful Emeraude. He had a very beautiful wife, and now she was recovered from their having Billy, Simone was happy to jump his bones or to be jumped at the drop of a hat. Any hat. If anything, things had only gotten better between them.

With the Ice-Tiara out of the way, there was no strain on their relationship. Simone was no longer a shut-in, and Finn didn't tip-toe around madness anymore. She had friends, and a family now. They had been doing well.

At the same time, he was well off the rails with Emeraude. More even than the sex, he wanted her company. He wanted her as part of his life, wanted to share everything with her. _Can I really be in love with both of them? Is that even possible,_ he wondered? He couldn't begin to guess. One thing was certain, he'd have to find the answer soon. They were almost done snatching his dad's goons. Then what? His reasons for being away would be gone. He wasn't sure _what_ Huntress would do on that day.

Morning brought no more clarity. The two rolled out of his sleeping bag and started getting dressed. Huntress went to her bag and got out fresh undies. Then she went across to where she'd left her previous set. She was walking funny again. "I... Did I hurt you...," he rumbled? "I'm just a little sore from last night," she admitted. It became less and less of a problem every time. She was getting used to how big he was. Then, glancing up, she gave him a nasty grin and reminded him, "you haven't touched me in a while..." Flushing, Finn glanced away. He'd been trying to extricate himself from this crazy affair, and he'd been terrified of what he'd done to her in Wizard City.

Staring at his feet, Finn rumbled, "I don't like that I hurt you." She gave him the strangest look. After a moment, she told him, "it doesn't hurt nearly as much as at first... Maybe if you did it to me more often..." Finn blushed to his hair. He wasn't supposed to be doing it to her at all. Emeraude chuckled, "you're my boyfriend. _Of course_ you're supposed to do it to me." She was daring him to refute that. Finn kept his mouth shut. Instead, he got out of the sleeping bag and started rolling it up. Then he moved on to making up breakfast. By the time Huntress was dressed, he had breakfast ready.

She wasn't the cook he was, and she was always happy when he made the food. Just as Betty had once said, Emeraude _loved_ meat. Finn had made up thick-cut bacon and sausage with eggs, and she ate heartily while he got dressed. Finn was done putting on his own clothes and ready to dig in, when, out of the blue, she asked, "why does it bother you?" Blushing, he said, "I care about you." Smiling at those words, she said, "it's a good pain, Finn." Licking those luscious lips, she said, "when I feel it, I know I had a good time the night before." She laughed at the blush that suffused his face.

In a teasing tone, she said, "you're _amazing_ between the sheets–literally the best I ever had. When you're nailin' me, I feel like I'm gonna' croak... just come apart at the seams... or go out of my mind." He was red as a beet when she'd finished that exposition. The wizard got up and sat down beside him. As he ate, she lay her head on his shoulder and savored his presence. Her heart wanted to bring up her suggestion, but her mind knew this wasn't the right time. Finn finished breakfast, and the moment was lost as he got up and started striking camp.

The wizard watched a moment, then she too got up and started putting their gear away in the packs and bags they'd carried it in. While they worked, Finn found himself watching her and thinking of those words. Honestly, he'd be lieing if he said those words didn't sound _so good_ to a guy's ears. She'd got him in the ego and the balls all at once. Done with their sleeping bags, Finn straightened to find E putting the dirty clothes she'd worn yesterday in her pack, and he really couldn't help looking at that butt of hers while she stood, bent over, rolling up her pants.

When she straightened and turned around, she found him watching her, and she gave him a grin as she realized what he'd been looking at. Standing there with camp broken, looking into Huntress–_Emeraude's_–pretty green eyes, Finn found the hunger for her came back full force. Seizing her in his arms, he pulled her close and stuffed his tongue into her mouth. "Mmmm," moaned the sexy wood-nymph. His hands caressed her cute little cupcake butt and stroked her flanks. He'd noticed she was getting a little plumper from eating the food he cooked, but he hardly minded at all.

Emeraude sighed, "you're going to make me walk into town dirty and with a sore pussy, baby..." Those words, delivered in that all-too-serious tone broke the spell on him. They weren't here on their honeymoon. They were here to track down the last two aliens. Finn let go of her. She gave him a teasing smile, then turned, scooped up her cloak, and settled it over her shoulders. Over her shoulder, she threw out, "you can fuck me tonight, baby. As many times as you want." Right after they put these last two jokers in the ground.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41:

Gorg was angry enough to smash anything and everything he came across. They'd spent weeks crafting that transmitter station only to have it smashed under their feet. This job was increasingly looking like it was going to be the death of him. He'd spent the last couple of days in a mood so vile that Gorsh had honestly considered running off on him. The massive alien, in spite of his size and strength, was the quintessential bully. He was terrified of dealing with an opponent who could hurt him, but he would gleefully abuse anyone weaker than him. He'd been heaping abuse on Gorsh since he'd pulled him from the wreckage of the transmitter. The only thing that stopped the little genius from making his escape was his own fear of the terrifying creatures here on this awful planet.

The little alien had spent the journey going over his plans again and again, wondering where the flaw was. He'd done everything that made sense. He'd put together a defensive army so fierce that even that kid shouldn't have been able to get through. He'd harnessed the technology here to make weapons emplacements to defend them. He'd even managed to build defense shields. None of it had stopped their foes.

Weapons, defenses, army, even their fellow survivors. They had lost everything. The only thing Gorsh had left was the portable communicator that would have provided the waveform for the transmitter. It was the only thing that allowed him to cling to some shred of hope. They were still in this game as long as they had the radio. Of course they needed more than that.

"We're never going to get another reactor," snarled the massive alien! Gorg had been browbeating him about that for a while now. He wanted to find another site to build their radio, but he seemed to be having real trouble with the science. The science said that they needed gigawatts of power. The only other way to get that kind of power was electrical discharges from a terrestrial storm, but storms were too unpredictable. Without the appropriate instruments to measure atmospheric conditions, they could wait months or even _years_ for a powerful enough storm to pass by.

"I need electrical power," rumbled Gorsh. He was staring straight ahead, doing his best not to antagonize the bigger creature. Gorg had come close to smashing him twice already now. He had the upper hand and both knew it. Calmly, the little engineer said, "the more power you can find me, the less reliant on chance we become. If you can get me fifty-percent of what I need, I can manage the rest with battery power or wind or solar..." The raging villain calmed down. "Alright," muttered Gorg. Without a further word, he turned and stormed out.

That was another sore point. Gorsh thought he shouldn't be the one going out to look for technology. He stood out here. These creatures, stunted by centuries of fallout blowing in from the west and twisted by the unforgiving landscape around them, didn't have massive specimens like Gorg. He stood out, and he should have been the one lying low while Gorsh scouted for tech. The reality was that Gorg didn't trust the engineer. He trusted Gorsh little farther than he could throw him.

The big alien went out into the ugly little world the primitives lived in, making his way down the sheltered canyon where he was holed-up currently, feeling the sand crunch underneath his boots. This was all wrong. This was all so wrong. They weren't supposed to be in this situation at all. They were supposed to have just come here, raided the place for whatever they could get out of it, and gotten home. He was supposed to be in a bar, drinking right now. How had it all gone so wrong?

He wanted to blame Martin. He wanted to put the blame on Martin for not thinking this through. He wanted to blame Martin for not bringing in the right weapons or the right troops. He wanted to say it was the human's obsession with the pink princess. Deep down, he knew none of that was true. None of them would ever have believed these creatures were anything but pushovers. They didn't even have space-travel anymore! How was it they had the power to wreck a functioning starship!

Turning right, Gorg headed down towards the market square. He'd gotten some leads there yesterday. Some of these people were in the business of tracking down technology to sell to their overlords to the west. It was entirely possible that they could guide him to something that would meet Gorsh's needs.

Gorsh was at his portable terminal going over the calculations again when he heard the noise. He'd been running the simulation nonstop–almost since the crash. He'd tweaked the sim and tweaked it again, doing all he could to optimize the process. He'd cut a little here and shaved a little there, and over time those little savings did mean quite a bit. Unfortunately they didn't add up to gigawatts of power. He couldn't optimize his way to his goal. If you could generate gigawatts of energy with your mind, you wouldn't need technology! He needed a miracle, but he was much too advanced to believe in deities.

Rising at the sound from outside, he called out to his savior and captor, "Gorg, did you forget the key?!" There was no answer. Muttering curses, the little genius got up and went to the door. His hand was inches from the latch when he suddenly stopped. He'd seen Gorg with his key in hand to lock the door. More to the point, Gorg would have answered him with vulgarities. He certainly wouldn't be prowling around outside.

Outside, Finn absorbed the burst of gunfire that came through the door with Nadia's gift. Then he kicked the shattered door in and stormed into the room. The target was halfway across the room. It was the little scientist that Imgwesh knew–the same one who'd been building the control device for the serpent. Finn called out to him, saying, "stop. We're not here to..." The alien turned and lit up the room. Finn deflected those bolts of lightning with the Finn-Sword. A disgusted Gorsh hurled the pistol at him as he continued to run. _Why do they throw the gun,_ thought Finn? Just then, Huntress stepped in off the balcony, cutting off the little shit's escape.

The little alien skidded to a halt. He stared around him in terror, his eyes darting this way and that. "There's no escape," said Finn. "It's just two of you now. Tell us where the other guy went. We'll take you back to the Candy Kingdom... Alive..." Gorsh thought quickly. The young man had survived all they threw at him. He'd even killed Martin. The other one–the mutant–wore a smile that terrified him. He'd heard rumors that she was willing to torture. "Alright," he howled! "Alright!" The little guy threw up his hands.

Finn slid his sword into his belt. Grabbing the little guy, Finn chucked him onto the couch, demanding, "talk. Where's the other one?" "Gorg," stammered the alien. "H-he went to the market square... He's... He went looking for someone who could take us to another antenna." Finn knew from Nadia's instructions where the underground tech market was in Scraptown. "E," said Finn, as he chucked the pistol to her. "Watch this guy. I'll be back." "You sure you want to go alone," asked the wizard? "Ch'yeah, man," said Finn. "I got this."

Finn went back out the door and down to the street. They were so close. Just drag these two guys to the edge of town, call Nadia, and they were done. This whole thing was about to be over, and he could get back to Simone and Billy. He was going to miss this. It was the crazy life E had been trying to tempt him with basically since she'd come strolling into his life after the Maze. He could see now what she'd been trying to offer him. It was like his life with Jake–crazy adventures without any thought about tomorrow. Problem was, he'd changed. He didn't want adventure anymore. Well, at least he didn't want this kind of adventure. He wanted his life with Simone and Billy. He wanted to be home with them every day.

At the same time, he wanted E in his life, and he wasn't sure how to square that. He couldn't have _two_ wives, could he? That wasn't how this was supposed to go. He'd tried so hard to end this without hurting E, but he got so weak. Now he was in a bind. How was he going to let her down? What would she do? Knowing how alone she was and how sad her life was, he didn't want to send her off on her own again. It was all so confusing, and he knew that, once again, it would all have to wait. He had to track down this last guy.

Back in the room, Gorsh sat staring at the terminal. He had been so close to going home. He didn't really care about the Devourer anymore. He just wanted to go home. This had been the chance of a lifetime–the biggest possible score–and it had all gone to shit. Now he was here with this mutant, wondering what would happen to him now. Would he spend the rest of his days in some prison somewhere? Somehow they'd figured out what he was trying to do. They had a vested interest in making sure he was never able to build a transmitter.

The little alien glanced up to the mutant, finding her staring back with a predatory cast to her features. As he watched her, he thought about ways he could talk his way out of this. He could promise to go away and never return. He could promise to lie and hide all he'd seen here. He could squelch knowledge of the great beast in the planet's crust. He could promise them all those things if they'd just let him go home.

Standing on the far side of the room, holding the alien's weapon, the wizard's mind was on Finn. She didn't want him out there by himself. She wanted to be there with him. That would have needed her to bring the spud here with her. More to the point, a corner of her mind realized that this little guy was the linchpin of the whole thing. According to Bonnie, he had been the one rigging up a control system to let them enslave the monster. He'd been the one instigating the murders of cow-tits' people. He'd been the one trying to build a space-radio to call home. If he was gone, even if the other alien got away from them, he'd never be able to call for help.

It was that last thought that crystalized the decision in the wizard's mind. As Gorsh watched, the mutant strode forward and put his gun on the table next to the terminal. Stepping back, she grinned at him. The little alien stared at her in puzzlement. Confusion turned to fear as he realized she was goading him. She was trying to get him to go for the gun. He'd heard she was the more ruthless of the pair, and now he believed it. "One," she announced. His eyes narrowed. "Two," said she, and it was then that he realized she was counting down to his death! "Three," said she. He was on his feet and moving, darting for the balcony.

That surprised her. She'd been expecting him to go for a weapon to try and fight for life. Gorsh was no soldier. In the end, full-on flight worked far better for him. Still, he was a little shit and not very fast with his stubby legs. He'd only made it halfway across the room when she killed him. The lightning bolt hit him in the small of his back and picked him up. He went sprawling on the hard cement of the balcony, stone dead before he landed.

The wizard strode forward and knelt down at his side. She checked the body over carefully, making sure he was dead. He was. The lightning had left a smoking crater in his back and burned out his spine. Rising, Emeraude Baudin went back to the table, picked up the gun, and brought it back to the alien's corpse. This wasn't what Finn would have done. It was what she had done for more than half her life and for goals that were far from lofty. Standing there a moment, thinking about this, she reflected on that. Honestly, she could be said to be the altruist here.

Dropping the gun at the dead alien's side, the wood-nymph realized that this was the first time in her life that she'd done something like this for good. Having worked for some of the most evil gangsters on Ooo, she had a lot of blood on her hands. She was risking everything she cared about for the people of Ooo. It was a decision she knew Bonnie would mostly approve of.

The pink princess was almost as much a goody-two-shoes as Finn. At the same time, when something threatened the little world she'd created, she didn't hesitate a moment to smash the threat. This little alien, with the knowledge in his head, was a threat like nothing the world had ever seen before. And now he was gone. The pistol would let Emeraude claim that the alien went for the gun. That would ease Finn's conscience. Turning, she strode back across the room to the door. She had to catch up. Finn could be in danger.

The streets of Scraptown were notoriously dangerous, what with the crumbling canyon walls and unstable structures. Heaped on that was a host of other dangers from the local wild-life and the inhabitants. Those inhabitants gave the hero the eye as he made his way through the maze of alleys and streets. Life here was tough, and they were happy to snatch strangers and put them to work. Finn kept one eye on the mutants while he searched for his quarry. Though they chattered away in whispers, likely sizing him up, but nobody made a move.

Finn rolled on, heading up a steep, narrow canyon in the sunken city. Nadia had told him this was where the worst of the junk traders–the lowest dregs of Scraptown–lived. They were evil, cruel, and paranoid, and Finn found himself adopting a little of their paranoia as he huffed and puffed his way up through the narrow passages between half-buried buildings. As he reached the end of the canyon, a deep, booming voice shouted, "a prize to the one who brings me his head!" And then it was on.

The mutants came from every direction at once, carrying every sort of weapon. Some had long spears. Others had hooked poles. Still others carried crude guns or crossbows. There were dozens of them, and all focused on one thing–killing Finn the Human. Finn rushed to meet the ones facing him, running out of reach of the ones who were behind. As he rushed forward, Nadia's gift deflected bullets and arrows and even rocks hurled at him. And then, sword at the ready, he was among them.

He was fast. Gorg had never seen anybody move like that, and he realized he might well have been watching a much younger Martin. Martin was fast too, but not as quick as this. Of course Martin had been going to seed. The boy chopped off an arm, smashed a spear, deflected a gunshot, skewered the shooter, and all that in the space of a few breaths. He was so _fluid_, seeming to flow from one strike to the next, throwing kicks and punches when he wasn't using that fantastic sword. At one point, he even jammed the sword into one of his opponents and pinned him to a wall before bashing another opponent's face in with an open-handed blow.

At the same time, he kept conjuring those fantastic defense-fields. Gorg wouldn't have believed such tech existed in this place. He'd seen the shields the mutants to the west had developed, but this was far more refined. He wanted it for himself. If he was stuck here on this world, he wanted as much weaponry as he could lay hands on. As the boy spun to face the threats bearing down behind him, Gorg jumped into action.

Finn was enjoying himself, dueling the mutants, when the alien showed his ugly face. Gorg. The name came to him from the darkest recesses of his mind. This was Imgwesh's friend, and he was the tormentor who'd hassled Bonnie the most. His rage rose, and he wanted to smash this fucker's face in for all he'd done to Peebles. He knew better. Gorg was taller than he, bigger, and stronger. If he rushed in, he'd get smashed instead. Especially with all these other guys. Instead the hero played long-ball, scooting back and making the alien come to him. At the same time, he used the mutants as human shields, letting them take the brunt as Gorg leveled a rather large gun at him and sprayed the area with bolts of light.

Mutants died as the searing hot beams tore through them. Many of the survivors tucked tail and ran then. Only the oblivious or the greedy stuck around. Deflecting and dodging their feeble strikes, Finn let them tire themselves out, while Gorg continued to pound away at him. One by one his lesser opponents got shredded by the powerful gun the alien had–or they simply ran off in terror of their lives. Finally it came down to Finn and the alien.

Calmly, Finn said, "you can't win. My sword can stop anything you can dish out–and after that, I have these shields..." Gorg growled out, "fuck you, kid." Finn chuckled as they began to circle. Gorg fired off another burst of plasma-bolts. Almost negligently, Martin's kid thwacked them aside. It was like he had some fucking sixth sense. Motion behind the kid alerted the massive alien to the fact that they weren't alone. He stalled for time, saying, "you could be cut in, kid. There's a lot of money riding on this..." Finn chuckled, "my dad tried to cut me in... You know what? I'm good." The alien's hands clenched up on his gun, and Finn prepared to do his thing once again.

As Gorg was readying to send another barrage at the boy, the woman came on the scene, jogging along like she was out for the air. Two. Two against one. "Geeze, donk," announced the wizard. "You made a helluva scene. The whole town looks like it might clear out." "I thought I told you to guard the prisoner," retorted Finn. As she came up alongside him, the wizard chuckled, "he went for a weapon, babe. Had to do him." Finn let out a sigh. He hadn't wanted to waste these guys out of hand.

Strangely enough, though, those words had an effect on the giant in front of them. The ugly alien suddenly relaxed, dropped his weapon on the ground, and kicked it away. Finn frowned, but Huntress said, "he's got no more chances, Finn. He can't build a transmitter by himself..." Now the hero understood. "Alright," said he. "Let's start walking."


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42:

"That's the last of them, PB," murmured Finn. Bonnie nodded. The last and the worst all at once. This was the one who'd been all but begging Martin Mertens to let him rape her. This was the sick fucker who'd made a show out of cutting off pieces of her hair to chew on. He'd made himself such a plague on her existence, that Bonnie had almost been _praying_ for him to die at the end of Finn's sword. _But cowards always surrender, Bonnie,_ she thought, and only a coward levied such vile threats against another person.

The evil alien licked his chops and rumbled, "well, if it ain't the pretty pink girl..." Before he could utter another word, Bonnie gave Rattleballs a curt nod. The battle-droid slammed a steel fist into the alien's chest, flattening him on the floor of his cell. Calmly, Bonnie hocked up a loogy and spat on the alien's face. Then, without a further word, she turned and walked away.

Rattleballs locked the cell, not even bothering to check to see if the alien was still among the living. Having been disabled once, he wasn't taking chances, and Finn was inclined to agree. "Well, Rattles," said Finn, "I'll buy you some oil or something..." Rattleballs chuckled in amusement. "That is gracious, Finn the Human," said he, "but I have work to do." Which was more or less what Finn expected. The two parted company, with Huntress falling in at Finn's side as they went up and out of the jail.

They had come down to the bottom of the list, and Huntress found herself in a strange state of fear. Those long, lonely journeys away from the Candy Kingdom had provided opportunities to bond with the man she was so desperately in love with. On the revenge road, it was just the two of them. No Simone. No Phoebe. No Bonnibel Bubblegum. She had him all to herself.

She'd learned a lot about her man on those trips. They'd had their share of fights, which she mostly won simply because her donk didn't fight with girls. Oh, he got angry, and he cussed and fumed. One thing he never did was shout at _her_. It was strange, when she was often prickly enough that she couldn't help shouting at him. She'd learned just what Simone had learned. He was endlessly patient with her flaws–never holding her childish habits and hostile ways against her. He was careful of her life as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Yet, he trusted and relied on her as one did a solemn partner. She'd learned that he loved her just as much as she loved him.

But Finn the Human was already taken.

Each time they came back–every time they walked through those gates–Finn would say his goodbyes. He would promise her that he would call or stop by and chat, but he would firmly tell her they had to separate–to end this whole thing. He was committed to Simone, and nothing she said or did could change that. The first time that blow came, it felt like the day the spear had torn out her guts in the Wishmaster's maze. She was shocked to realize that she was getting used to it–accustomed to the double life and the lies.

It had grown more painful lately. As the reports and sightings dwindled–as the of places to investigate got shorter and shorter–Emeraude began to fear that the final time was coming–that she would lose him forever. She knew that if she lost him, she would never love again. So she'd come up with a new plan. She could never take him from Simone. She saw that now. Finn would never leave the woman he'd nearly died for, and he would never let go his precious boy.

So she would have to get used to this life.

Just now, Finn was talking about what he wanted to do next. The Banana Guard made an ineffective army, but now that Rattleballs and his war-droids were going to handle that problem, Finn could reshape the Banana Guards into a police force. He wanted to teach them to fight, and he wanted her help doing it. Emeraude smiled, pleased that he still made her part of his plans. That would make it easier for him to accept her proposal. He couldn't leave, and she wouldn't try to make him go.

Walking side by side, they reached the surface and walked out into the courtyard where the Candy-Kingdom's few professional criminals exercised. Every face there watched them as they crossed that yard. Some of them were Martin's men. Others were candy-folk that had crossed the Princess over the years. All of them knew who Finn the Human was, and many now knew Huntress by sight if not name. She could sense their _fear_, and it made her glad. A part of her wanted to take Finn's hand and hold it. Let them fear the two of them.

Taking their time, the two headed back across the town to the Guard's headquarters. Finn bounced ideas off of her, and Emeraude tweaked some of them and rejected others. Mostly she steered him in the direction she wanted him to go. He didn't _need_ to go out and throw the dice anymore, and she steered him away from taking too active a role. Having come close to dieing a couple of times now, the wood-nymph wizard was keenly aware of the odds they shaved. She didn't want to lose her man. After fighting through a Wishmaster's maze to find him, she wasn't prepared to lose him _now_!

Arriving at the headquarters, the twosome went up the stairs and into the lobby, where a lone guard stood. The giant banana greeted them with a cheery smile, announcing, "hi, Finn! Hi, Huntress!" Emeraude rolled her eyes, though Finn greeted the candy person in exchange as the two went up into the office. No sooner had they come through the door, than a bunch of candy-people all jumped out, shouting, "surprise!" Finn had to stop his partner from blasting a couple of them.

"What the what," asked the hero?! Jake said, "PB wanted to throw you guys a party for runnin' down those thugs. She asked me to put it together." Which was as good as Jake saying that he'd done this on his own. Finn's bro was absolutely hopeless. Of course Finn loved the stretchy dog for it. Wading in, Finn thanked all their friends even though he really wanted to get home to Simone.

He made the rounds, accepting the toasts and having a sip of bark beer with everybody he knew. When he came to Lollipop Girl, who was standing near the refreshments, he found her dressed to kill in a skin-tight mini-skirt and a tight tee-shirt that read, 'Finn the Hero' on the back and had a cute little pictogram that declared I 'heart' Finn. The cute candy-person had done her face and, in spite of all that he'd gotten from E the last few days, he couldn't help seeing her as kinda hot. It helped not at all that her nips were making dents in the front of her shirt. She greeted him with a sweet, "hi, Finn..." "Heh, heh, yeah," he babbled. "Hi, LG. Nice to see you."

She handed him a full cup of bark-beer, saying, "how about a toast?" Accepting the cup, Finn replied, "uh, yeah, sure..." Holding up the cup, Lollipop smiled and said, "to the greatest hero Ooo's ever known! May he get the rewards he deserves for all he's done..." Finn flushed as he realized that she wasn't talking about medals. He was suddenly reminded of Jake's words. At the same time, everybody was echoing her toast, leaving Finn little time to think. He ended up going along with it. Then, before the hole got deeper, he made an excuse to slip away.

Jake cornered him on the far side of the room near an open window. Grinning, the stretchy dog asked, "how ye been, buddy?" With a shrug, Finn replied, "wiped out. It was crazy out there. I'm just glad to be home in one piece." "I'll bet," agreed Jake. "What ye got cookin' now?" Smiling, Finn replied, "I'm'a go home. See Simone and Billy..." Jake rolled his eyes. His bro was still acting like a kid. Said he, "naw, dude! You should live it up..." Puzzled, Finn asked what he meant. Jake pointed out, "lots of people will do stuff for the guy who stopped those killer alien-dudes, man." Grinning, he ticked them off, "free bark-beer at the pub, man... Free dinners. Tickets to shows..." Lowering his voice, he added, "and more lovin' than you can shake a stick at."

Finn gave his brother a look of utter horror. Taking his expression for confusion, Jake said, "there's lots of girls here in the Kingdom who'd let ye bang 'em, man." Slapping Finn on the back, Jake added, "that Lollipop Girl sure is cute..." Finn turned and walked away. Was that what a hero was _supposed_ to do? Screw every girl he came across? It didn't sound very _heroic_. He'd be cheating on two girls at once! In a blue funke, Finn went to a far corner of the room and stood staring into space.

The party wound on. It went on for several more hours. Peeps were having a good time, and Finn didn't want to take that from them. After the invasion and with all the people who'd been killed or badly hurt, he thought Bonnie's people deserved the release. At the same time, he didn't really want to be here. He wanted to go home, and he was irritated with Jake for getting in the way. If that wasn't enough, he had all the flirting to deal with. Lollipop Girl wasn't the only one. She was just the most obvious. Disturbed by the attempts to lure him into cheating, the hero spent the rest of the party ducking Jake and avoiding Lollipop Girl as guests slowly trickled out. Finally, as the clock chimed for ten o'clock, Jake headed out too, talking to his son, T.V. Finn found himself more or less alone. Heading to his office in the back, he sat down and tried to get his head together. He needed to figure some things out before he went home to his family. That was where Huntress found him.

She came in, bold as you please, and shut the door. Smiling, she announced, "boy, ain't you the life of the party, donk." Finn muttered something impolite under his breath. Strolling over, hips wig-wagging with every step, the wizard said, "usually you have _fun_ at a party..." Finn stared down at his feet. He was ashamed of himself for wanting to rail Lollipop Girl, and he was ashamed of Jake for suggesting it was ok. "I saw that slut trying to tempt you," said Emeraude. Face red as a beet, Finn glanced up to find the wood-nymph grinning at him. Catching his lips with hers, she kissed him expertly while she slipped into his lap. "I know what you go through," she whispered. "I know how much it bugs you..." And again she kissed him.

In spite of the words and the situation–he _knew_ she was literally no different than Lollipop Girl–he felt his hunger come alive. His hands caught hold of her cute little ass and gave it a squeeze. In moments, they were kissing and caressing, touching each other tenderly. It was a strange dichotomy for Finn–almost like Emeraude couldn't decide what she wanted. She got so turned on when he was gentle. He could have her whining and moaning and thrashing. At the same time, when he was rough with her, she would really blast off.

His hands slipped down the back of her pants, squeezing her butt. She was wearing sky-blue panties in lace today with a thin strap that went down between her butt-cheeks. He knew because he'd seen her put them on. She'd teased him saying, 'later'. He'd vowed there wouldn't be a 'later'. They weren't supposed to do this here. This was home. This was where Simone and all his friends could see what he was up to. Still, it scarcely stopped him from giving his girlfriend of six months a fat hickey on her neck.

Nor did it stop him from unbuttoning her blouse and getting to grips with her perky little boobies. He rubbed his face against them, savoring her scent. She'd daubed herself with a little dash of perfume, and now she smelled heavenly. Like the panties, the bra was skimpy, barely serving to hold her plump, sensitive knockers in place. As he caressed them, he found himself wondering. They seemed _fuller_ somehow. Her bra barely contained them. Still, lost in the feel of her hot little body, the hero went from one booby to the other, licking and kissing and caressing them. His reward was the feel of E pressing her chest into his face while she rubbed her snatch against his hard dong.

Soft moans escaped her lips as he had his way with her, and she did her share of touching too–or _clawing_. She would claw the shit out of him if he let her. Fortunately her nails were so short that the scratches never went very deep. It did tell him he was touching the right spots. The more turned on she got, the harder she clawed at him. Right now it was a middling amount of scratching. She wasn't quite there yet.

Finn picked her up and lay her down across his desk. Emeraude moaned in heat as he began unbuckling her belt and unfastening her pants. This was one of her fantasies. She had fantasized on numerous occasions that he had taken her that first day she came into this office. She fantasized that he locked her in and ravaged her for _hours_. Now, sort of after the fact, it was finally happening.

Finn jerked the pants down off her sexy hips. Pulling the abbreviated crotch of her panties aside, he went down on her, licking and smacking on her tangy juice. It was tart now–like orange-juice–but still delicious on his tongue. He noisily ate her hot box out, swabbing his tongue up and down her crack, nibbling and sucking on her joy-button, and even trying to stick his tongue up her honey-hole. Her hands clawed at his hair, pulling and tugging as she went crazy. Hot girl goo dribbled out all over his desk and even onto some of the papers he'd left there. He was far more interested in what he was doing to _her_ than he was in the papers, though.

His little buddy was hard as an iron bar by now, and, as E went over the edge for the fourth time, he decided to have some himself. Dropping his pants, Finn fished his big pecker out of his boxers. Swabbing it up and down her hot, oily gash, he got it coated in her girl-juice. Leaning down, he kissed her tenderly–then jammed it into her. The wood-nymph screeched into his mouth. Her head jumped, and their teeth even bumped together–painful, but just a minor inconvenience. Starting slow, Finn began to rail her, slowly working up to a rhythm as she clutched and clawed at his sides.

"Aaaaaoooo," she howled! "_Fuck_! It's so good, baby! You do it to me so good!" Finn caressed her plump little knockers, squeezing and kneading her tender flesh until mommy-juice dribbled out. He was still a little puzzled by that, but his dick was doing his thinking right now. Hips clapping into hers, he rode her hard and fast, driving that big thing back and forth in her belly while she wailed and squealed beneath him. His girl thrashed and shook and shivered, and he was having a pretty good time himself. He actually found himself almost _drooling_. While he wouldn't have said she was the _best_ he ever had–he still would have given his wife her due–E was a magical sex-partner for a horny young man.

As she felt him speeding up, Huntress began to egg him on, whining, "shoot that stuff, baby! Shoot your stuff, baby! You can do it! You can shoot it in me!" She was all but begging him. As her hands clawed at his butt, Finn did just that, shooting what seemed like every drop of goo he had and ever would have in her hot snatch. Almost he collapsed on her, just like that. Getting his senses at the last moment, Finn drew back, still holding onto her. He sat down, just like that, with E straddling his lap, her pants tangle around her ankles. For a long few moments, all they could do was catch their breath. That was crazy. It wasn't quite the craziest they'd had. That would have been the moment he realized she was unhurt after the alien radio-station crashed. Still, this was level-twenty crazy.

And completely stupid.

They weren't supposed to do this in the Candy Kingdom. They were supposed to keep this quiet. But that was becoming next to impossible for the wood-nymph. Emeraude was heels-over-head in love, and she wanted to shout it from the rooftops. Soft sigh against his ear, and she said, "it didn't hurt at all that time." Her poor pussy was finally getting used to his big, fat pecker. His hand stroked the soft skin at the small of her back, while he stared into space, lost in thought. He'd crossed another line, and they both knew it. Always he'd kept his distance from her when they were here. He never let her get close enough. He never put them at risk of discovery _here_. In a way, Emeraude had come to think of this place as _Simone's_ kingdom.

She was now about to twist that–to mount her own little rebellion against the former Ice-Queen. _Here goes nothing,_ she thought with a sigh. "Finn," she murmured. Voice sounding brittle, he answered, "yeah?" "I... I want to say something," announced the wood-nymph. "I-I'm listening," sighed Finn. Sliding her arms around his shoulders, she said, "I can't ask you to leave her. I know that now..." He flinched back from her, but Emeraude held on just as hard as she had the day he'd first made love to her. Softly, she said, "I'm... Finn, I'm happy with this... I'd... Finn, do you know what a mistress is?" He had to admit that he hadn't a clue. It was a word with more than one syllable.

Chuckling drily, Huntress said, "I'd be happy with this... with whatever moments you can spare for me..." Finn gave her a look of utter horror. What was she saying?! That they would cheat like this _forever_! It was then that he realized just how far he'd fallen and just how screwed he was. He was _trapped_. He couldn't walk out on Simone. Not after all they'd been through together. She needed him. He loved her. He loved her like life itself. He couldn't abandon Billy. Billy was his boy–the light of his life. He wanted to do... _everything_ with his son. He wanted to take him fishing and teach him sword-play. He wanted to ride Billy around on his back until he couldn't anymore–all the stuff he never got as a boy.

And he was hopelessly in love with Emeraude.

Leaning back, the wood-nymph took his face in her hands, and she was surprised to find tears there. Why was he crying? What was wrong? Turning away, he stared out the window a moment. Then, as the first tears started to fall, he turned back to face her. "What are we doing," he asked? She wasn't sure what he meant by that. She thought that was perfectly clear. They'd had crazy, clandestine sex in his office after everyone had gone home. They'd reaffirmed just how much they loved each other.

There was something in his eyes just then, and she felt a shiver of fear go through her. Finn pushed her away, and Emeraude got up off his lap. Climbing to his feet–fumbling after his pants, Finn walked to the window. "Wh-what's wrong," she asked? "What's wrong," he growled, as he spun to face her?! "Everything's wrong! I'm fucking cheating on Simone! I'm hurting her!" He was angry and venting. She'd seen him get this way, but never over their love.

"What're you saying," she growled?! "I'm saying that this is _wrong_," retorted Finn! "This is all wrong! We shouldn't be doing this!" Shaking himself, he said, "I don't understand any of this. I didn't even think you _liked_ me." Huntress turned away, and she felt a surge of anger of her own. She felt like... belting him. She went around his desk and sat down. Staring at him, she said, "why are you treating me like this?! I... I give you everything you want. I let you hide... us... from the world. I let you go back to _her_ every time..." "And that's the biggest problem of all," shouted Finn! "I-I'm _using_ you! It's not fucking right! It's not fair to you. It's not fair to Simone."

Huntress began to cry, and he felt awful. Still, he knew he was right. What they had been doing was awful every way he looked at it. _He_ had been awful to her. "I don't understand," he muttered. "I don't understand why someone strong as you are would let a jerkwad like me just... just sleep with you and walk away." Turning towards her again–it hurt so bad to see her crying–he forced himself to stay right where he was. If he went to her, he'd be lost. He'd never have the strength to end this. Emeraude wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

Staring down at her feet, Huntress sighed, "Finn, what do you expect? I'm... I'm a cunt. Nobody gives a shit about me. And then you saved my life. Twice. Y-you kept me from getting gang-raped. You're the first person to care about me. Of course I'm in love with you. It's not like I fucking have a choice." Finn's face went hot. He felt like a jerk for even saying what he'd said. At the same time, he knew they had to end this. He had to say that. He just wished he'd had the courage to say it before they went down this road.

On her side, the wood-nymph had something of her own to say. She'd been holding off on telling him this. She'd been looking for the right moment. With all they'd been doing, good moments were few and far between. Now she thought there never would be a good time. It was time to tell him what she'd been hiding for over a month now. "I'm pregnant," she sighed.

Finn's legs buckled, and he fell back against the wall. It might have been funny. The big, strong hero, covered in muscles on top of muscles, and he comes close to fainting at the news that he got his girlfriend up the duff and made her panties tight. Nothing was funny right now. Wiping at her eyes, she said, "I'd wanted to tell you, but things have been so crazy." "I'm sorry," he murmured. "Why," muttered Huntress? "I... I started this. I'm responsible. I didn't use protection, and I didn't ask you to use any." Finn sighed and said, "I was half the problem. I took advantage of you." As hard to get as he'd been, it sure hadn't felt like it.

"I'm gonna' take care of you," he said. "Best I can... We... We have to stop here. We can't do this anymore." He was going to go home tonight and tell Simone. He didn't know where he'd be sleeping or what would happen next, but he was going to tell his wife the truth. He owed her that. He left her there, and went out through the office, his mind in a state of turmoil.

He had a daughter. He had another daughter. How was he going to break the news to Simone? This whole time he'd been thinking that they would just end things. He'd been hoping to put the genie back in the bottle. He'd thought... He'd just assumed in the back of his mind that Emeraude would go her way, and he'd go his. He'd just assumed that they would sweep all of this under the rug–like it never happened. That made him feel worse. He couldn't sweep her feelings under the rug! That was... It was awful anyway he looked at it.

As he walked, the young hero got more and more depressed. The more he thought about the things he'd been doing, the worse he felt. He was spiraling slowly down into a state of despair. He had destroyed his life. He'd just destroyed everything he'd ever worked to have. He'd wrecked his name and reputation. He'd destroyed his marriage to Simone, and he'd just wrecked Billy and Fionna's lives too. He wasn't sure he could live with himself now.

Simone wasn't home when Finn arrived. The house was as empty and dark as he felt. He went in, turned on the lights, and stood staring at the couch. Simone had had it repadded while he was gone on one of his trips. After months of suggesting they trash it, she'd confessed to saving it because it had been the spot where they had met. She'd kept it because it was a defining part of their lives together, and she thought it was worth saving. The sight of that couch made him feel about two inches tall. He couldn't see how he could save their relationship. He didn't think there were enough apologies in the world to save 'them'. He really only saw one way forward.

Remove the problem. The problem had to go.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43:

The house was strangely quiet when Simone came up the walk, cradling her son. She hadn't heard until this morning that Finn was home. She'd been at Lady's house, staying with her in-laws for safety's sake. With no way of knowing who her assailants had been, she'd decided to decamp to somewhere safer until Finn could get home. She'd been in bed asleep when her idiot brother-in-law had come home with four sheets to the wind. Jake had been too drunk to do much more than giggle, and Lady had put him to bed immediately.

This morning, over a cup full of hangover remedy, the sot had finally shared the news that his brother was home with his brother's wife. After he spent hours wasting Finn's time with an idiotic _party_ and then left him to go home alone. Jake had loudly proclaimed that there must be something wrong with the boy because Finn just hadn't seemed that interested. Simone had wanted to belt him on the spot. Why the fuck would Finn want to spend time with a bunch of strangers when he could spend it with his wife and child?! She'd rushed home as quick as she could, hoping to find him there, and she was excited to see him. Her sweet boy was home at last!

Simone went rushing up the stairs, calling out excitedly to her hubby. "Finn," she shouted! "I'm sorry I wasn't here, honey! I was over at Lady's, and nobody told me..." She came out on the landing to find a pile of Finn's stuff there in the middle of the floor. Finn sat there on a chair next to it, looking like the day he'd come back from his encounter with the alien. "I have something terrible to say," murmured Finn.

As Simone stood there staring, her husband told her all about how he had fallen into an affair with Huntress. He told her how the whole thing got started, and he told her how he'd lied and kept the whole thing going these last few months since his dad's attack. Simone listened in a state of shock as he explained how he really came to realize Imgwesh was in his head. Rattling to the end, he told her, "I got her pregnant, Simone. I'm... I... I have no excuse..."

Simone opened her mouth to speak and shut it again as she utterly failed to come up with something to say in response. As she stared at him, her husband broke down in tears. "I'm sorry for what I did to you," sobbed Finn. "I don't deserve you, and... and I'm gonna go away now and never bother you again." With that he put his keys on the table and took his wallet and put that beside them, leaving her with everything he had. "I-I'll send money...," said he. "I'll give you everything I can..." Without another word, he picked up his gear and all but _ran_ out of the house.

Finn went straight into town and straight to Banana-Guard Headquarters. He went through the outer office without speaking to anyone. There were messages there from both Huntress and Simone. Finn ignored both. He sat down at his desk, wrote a letter to Bonnie, and signed it. Rising once more, he gathered up his gear and headed out. On his way to the door, he handed off his letter to one of the guards and gave him orders to deliver it. Then he walked out the door, planning on never returning.

Trouble found him almost immediately. E was outside waiting on him, wearing a contrite expression. That expression changed almost as soon as she saw him carrying his gear. "She kicked you out," announced the wood nymph. "I left," muttered Finn. It wasn't as though things could ever be the same again. He'd wrecked things.

The wizard's eyes changed then. It didn't take long at all for her to see the possibilities. Pressing her hot, soft body against his, Huntress tried her best to change his mind. "We can be together now, Finn," she murmured. Finn pushed her away. "Don't you see," he shouted! "It's _me_! There's something wrong with _me_! I... cheated on the best thing to ever happen to me. I broke Simone's heart. I'd... I'd just do the same thing to you." Shocked, Emeraude stammered, "b-but what are you going to do now?" "I'm going back to the beginning," replied Finn, and without another word, he ran off down the street, bound for the gate.

The fallen hero left chaos in his wake as the news began its spread across the Candy Kingdom and beyond. A distraught Simone called all their friends, literally everyone she knew, looking for him–looking for answers. She called Marceline, who had only just gotten back to town. She called her parents. She called Lady. She called Bonnie. No-one knew anything. She even tried calling the other woman. From Huntress she got a terse, 'he isn't here' followed by a click as the witch hung up the phone. She was left combing through his wallet and his office, looking for any sort of clue. That's where she was when the knock came at the door.

Phoebe hadn't flown so fast in years. News that something awful had happened between Finn and Simone had her out of her office and on her way to the treehouse almost before she had dismissed her ministers. Now, as she alit outside the treehouse, she found herself having to calm down. Emotion wasn't needed here. She had gained fine control over her emotions over the last four years or so, enabling her to experience more of what life offered. At the same time, she well knew that if she once got overwhelmed, she would be setting fire to anything flammable that was nearby. In Simone's home, that would be disastrous.

Phoebe had once gotten a little excited while chatting with her best friend and accidentally lit a corner of the kitchen table. Simone had used the Ice-Tiara to put the fire out, but that was no longer an option. _So don't lose it, Phoebe,_ thought the Flame King as she shed her heavy iron armor in favor of a light–and unconfrontational–gown. Gathering her wits, she walked up to the door and carefully knocked, doing her best not to burn the wood. She waited there at the door for Simone to come down. It seemed almost to take an eternity.

As she was considering risking a second attempt at knocking, the door opened, revealing Simone's tear-streaked face. "Phoebe," murmured the former ice-wizard. Phoebe spoke a word of power, sheltering her friend in a fire-shield spell, and then they were hugging. She stood there in the doorway, rocking with Simone, holding her tight as the younger woman sobbed and cried into her shoulder. Biting her lip against the irritating pain of those tears splashing her, the fire-elemental held onto her dear friend and whispered soothing words in her ears, promising her they would fix this.

Simone finally came to her senses as she felt Phoebe flinch. Jumping back from her friend, she offered profuse apologies. Phoebe told her, "it's ok, Simone. I've had much worse. Simon once ice-blasted me." Ironically, it was after Finn set them up to fight in an idiotic attempt to finish a premonitory dream he'd been having. Stepping into the treehouse, Phoebe shut the door, announcing, "let's talk." She slipped on the asbestos slippers that Finn had procured for her and followed her friend up the stairs.

Billy was playing on the floor, crawling around and doing his best occasionally to try and stand. He was growing fast. Seeing Phoebe there, he got to his feet and immediately started trying to come towards her. The fire-elemental was used to that. Bonnie had explained that children were attracted to bright, shiny things, and what was more bright or shiny than a fire-elemental? The little tyke fell a couple of times, but he gamely kept coming. Knowing the risk he faced, Phoebe immediately put a fire-shield spell on him too. When he latched himself to her leg, she reached down and picked him up.

Simone was sitting there on the couch, watching when Phoebe looked up. The fire-elemental carried the little boy over to the couch and handed him off to his mother before sitting down on the asbestos covered chair that was hers when she was here. Looking her friend in the eyes, Phoebe opened with, "tell me..." Simone swallowed around the painful lump in her throat. Then, she haltingly began to talk of what had happened when she got home that morning.

The words were difficult to get out at first, and sometimes it seemed Simone would go to pieces on her. Still, the younger woman managed to get those words out, telling Phoebe what Finn had told her about the affair. Haltingly, Simone told her how the whole thing had gotten started. Then, as she rattled to the end, she explained how Finn had gathered up his things and just left, promising he'd give her everything he could. As Phoebe absorbed those words in a state of shock, knocking announced more visitors. Leaving Billy in her hands, Simone got up and went down the stairs.

Simone was a mess when she answered the door, and Simon immediately gathered her into his arms. "I came as soon as I heard," murmured the older man as he rocked with her there at the door of her home. Betty felt a momentary spark of jealousy as her husband hugged the beautiful young woman. Finn had sort of been the catalyst that let her look at Simone as something other than a potential rival. As long as they were together, Betty didn't fear Simone would stray and tempt Simon to stray with her. With Finn out of the way, she felt a little unsettled seeing her husband hugging this girl who looked so much like her.

At the same time, seeing the pain in the younger woman's eyes, Betty felt sympathy. Maybe it was the sorority of the female gender, but she pitied Simone. She would have slapped Finn Mertens if he showed his face. He'd had a wonderful world, and he'd spent the last few months throwing it all away to get his rocks off.

Simone beckoned them to come in, and the twosome followed their daughter up the stairs. The house wasn't nearly as orderly as it had been the last time they'd been here. It looked a little kicked over. Standing there next to the kitchen, Betty tried to put her finger on just why things looked different. And then it hit her. The swords were gone from the wall. The scraps of armor were missing. Really anything that had been a part of Finn was gone. "I see you threw him out," rumbled Betty. Simone flushed, but before she could answer, knocking announced she had yet more visitors. "Stay here, punkin," said Simon, and he went downstairs himself to get the door.

Female voices announced Simone's visitors even before their faces appeared at the head of the stairs. Bonnibel and Marceline came into view, looking worried and sober, with Simon coming up after them. As they came out into the kitchen, Simone began to explain to Betty what had happened after Finn told her about his affair. Shocked faces greeted those words. "That sounds more like he threw _himself_ out," rumbled Simon. That was worrisome. "What difference does it make," asked Betty? "He was a jerk, and now he's gone. She's left with one kid and a second on the way!"

"Simon's right," announced Marceline. "None of this adds up..." Betty rolled her eyes. It was a classic case of a man thinking with his pecker and believing he could keep control of it all. In her mind, Finn the Hero, was just another man with feet of clay. Phoebe mostly agreed with her. Finn _had_ pitted her against Ice-King without a thought of the consequences." "He was _fifteen_, Phoebe," retorted Marceline. "Are you ever going to let that go?" The fire-elemental ducked her head and glanced away. Floating there on her stomach, Marceline said, "this doesn't add up. Finn was so happy to be having Billy, I thought he'd shit himself for joy. It's out of character for him to do this."

"Do what," demanded Betty? "Leave?" This wasn't the first case of it she'd ever seen. "He left his kids," retorted Marceline. "That's not the Finn I know." "Obviously he went to be with _her_," Betty shot back. "Otherwise, if Simone didn't put him out, why would he go?" "Guilt," rumbled Bonnie. "He's feeling... _guilt_." Sitting down on a handy chair, the bubblegum monarch announced, "he wouldn't have left Simone. Not on his own. He was willing to kill her rather than see her suffer under the Crown's power." Betty gave her a frown of puzzlement. "That sounds pretty selfish to me," she announced. "You never saw the headaches," rumbled Simon. He'd _felt_ what his daughter went through, and he wouldn't have wished that on an enemy. The Crown had tortured him every time he fought it... until he quit fighting.

Suspiciously, Marceline rumbled, "you sure you didn't have anything to do with this, Bonnie?" Bonnibel Bubblegum glared at her. She'd pull that at a time like this? Marceline didn't back down. Coolly, she said, "if they broke up, you stood to gain..." Nodding, Phoebe pointed out, "and Huntress works for you." "_Worked_," retorted Bonnie. "She quit this morning. Said she was leaving and going back to Wizard City." Which made no sense at all. Finn couldn't go to Wizard City. He'd get turned into a magic stick! "None of this adds up," rumbled Simon. "He can't be with her, and Simone didn't throw him out. Sooo... What's going on?"

"There's one person who knows," announced Phoebe as she got to her feet. Handing Billy off to Betty, the elemental headed for the window. "Where're you going," asked Betty? "To ask some pointed questions," growled the King of the Fire Kingdom. Throwing the window open as she kicked off her slippers, Phoebe flew out the window. Snatching up her armor on the fly, she went streaking across the sky like a comet. She left the others staring after her in bewilderment.

Phoebe knew from Bonnie's own words where to find the wizard. She doffed her cloak in a walk-up off Chocolate Street, just a block from the gates of Bonnie's city. The elemental flew there as fast as she could. Alighting in the street to the shock and fright of the citizens, Flame King went striding up the stairs, singing the chocolate boards as she went. Shoving the door inwards, she left blackened handprints on the door and frame, and her feet left scorch marks with every step she took. Her anger was gaining the upper hand right now. This wasn't Finn's fault. In spite of her words–and in spite of some dangerous flirtations of her own these last few months, Finn had shown no desire or inclination to stray. He'd walked the line. Finn had matured a lot these last years. In Phoebe's mind, if he was doing this, there was something else in play.

And magic could go a long way towards making a man do what you wanted.

It didn't take her long to find the wizard's apartment. Her name was on the buzzer next to the door–a door which, curiously, stood open just now. Leaving all the wizard's property vulnerable to theft. All it would have taken was someone just walking in from the hall. It made no sense. None of this was making sense.

As she stood there, staring into the room beyond the door, a cheerful voice announced, "if you're lookin' f'er dat goil, she's down at Sharky's down on third..." He'd just been there. Phoebe turned to find a little candy-person there in the hallway. The elemental stared at the little piece of cotton-candy fluff a moment then asked, "where's Sharky's?" The little fellow gave her directions along with a warning. "She don't seem friendly," said he. "Turn't a guy into a cat f'er askin' for her number..." Flame King paid that absolutely no heed as she stalked past him, murder in her eyes. As he watched the angry woman go, leaving a trail of burn-marks on the floor, the candy-person found himself thinking whatever chump was dumb enough to romance those two deserved to be burnt alive!

In Sharky's a somber mood prevailed mostly owing to the dark figure sitting at the end of the bar. Sharky gave her a wide berth, staying at the far end of the bar. Nobody spoke above a whisper, mainly owing to the cat that was now roaming the room. The wizard sat with her hood drawn up over her head, staring down into her glass as tears slowly dripped onto the bar or into the hard cider–her fifth–she'd been nursing for a while now.

It hurt.

She couldn't believe how much it hurt. He was gone, and she was back where she started. She'd come full circle, finding herself back in a run-down bar alone like the trash she was. No boyfriend. Just painful memories. She remembered the stupid song he'd sung to cheer her up. She remembered him saving her butt whatever the cost. She remembered the ugly fights–mostly started by her–and the amazing make-up sex afterwards. It was all gone. And what would she tell their baby?

As she pondered what to do now, an orange glow filled the street. The patrons nearest to the door noticed it first, and several put their faces to the windows to see what was going on outside. An oblivious Huntress continued to cry into her drink and stare at the counter. As the glow grew brighter still, many patrons edged away from the windows. When the source of that glow finally stopped before the door, most everybody had moved away from the street.

That wasn't nearly enough. The door burst inwards in a blast of heat as the strange orange glow filled the entry. At its heart stood a figure in reddish-black armor, her flaming body only barely contained by the strange metallic construction. In a voice like a raging fire, the Flame King growled, "get out!" No-one needed to be told twice. In moments Sharky himself was running down the alley behind his customers, bar and business forgotten.

Huntress had been expecting Ice-Queen. That was what she'd have done. She'd have gone and got the Crown and come down here to throw down. _It doesn't matter,_ thought the heartbroken wizard. The result was maybe even a little better. Maybe Finn could still patch things up with his wife.

"Where's Finn," demanded the hostile elemental?! "I don't know," replied Emeraude. "Or won't say," growled Phoebe! "He dumped me," muttered Huntress. "He... stood there in the street and dumped me. I haven't seen him since..." That didn't make sense! Phoebe couldn't understand any of it. Voice close to breaking, Huntress said, "he said there was something wrong with him... that... that he'd just end up cheating on me too..." She'd been replaying those words over and over in her mind, sinking deeper and deeper into despair with each moment. The only way she could understand it was to blame _herself_. _She_ was responsible. She'd destroyed the man she loved.

Climbing unsteadily down from the bar stool, Huntress wobbled there a moment. Staring at the King of the Fire Kingdom through teary eyes, she rumbled, "do it. Do what you came here for..." That wasn't the reaction Phoebe had been expecting. Calmer now, she stepped back and to her left, trying to de-escalate things. The broken wizard wasn't ready to let go. "You came to kill me," growled Huntress. "Get to work..." "Why are you saying that," retorted Phoebe? She was suddenly reminded of the open door. It had been as if the wizard was just giving all her stuff away. It was like she didn't care about anything anymore. "It's true, isn't it," demanded the wood-nymph? Phoebe's blush answered that question. She'd come here with the intent to fight this woman. Now she began to realize that this wood nymph didn't want a fight. She wanted suicide-by-elemental.

Huntress began to circle her–a look of pure hatred on her face. "C'mon," snarled the wizard. "I fucked your best friend's man! I got something you could never get... I bet you would have loved to get some of what I got..." In crude terms, she told the Flame King all about Finn's love-making. Phoebe found herself growing angry again, not least because it was all true. She had found–then lost–the love of her life. She had a boyfriend, but she couldn't do much more than kiss his cheek! She was _frustrated_, and though Simone was her best friend, there were days Simone's happiness came close to killing her!

"You caused this," snarled the elemental! "Finn's disappeared because of you, and Simone's heartbroken! I ought to burn you alive!" "Then do it," growled Emeraude. Drawing a spell-arrow, she announced, "let me help you out." Those arrows were deadly–even to a fire-elemental. This was getting way out of hand. _You're not going to start it, Phoebe,_ thought Flame King. _She wants that._ Coolly, Phoebe said, "Finn kept saying he couldn't stop. What'd you do to him?" Frowning, Huntress retorted, "gave him anything he wanted, whenever he wanted it..." It almost came out almost as a sob. Phoebe's hand clenched into a fist.

Bitterly, the wood-nymph declared, "he was the man of my dreams. I'd have done anything he wanted... I never said a word every time Finn went back to _her_. I wanted to fucking cut her throat, but he'd never have gotten over her." She was openly crying now. "I wished for the man of my dreams," said the wizard. "I never dreamed he was right beside me..." Stopping in mid sentence, eyes grown big as plates, Huntress grabbed her hair as she had a shocking epiphany. "Oh, my glob," she gasped, dropping the arrow! "I wished for true love..."

Still circling her, the raging elemental growled, "what the fuck are you talking about?" Sobbing, Huntress fell to her knees, howling, "I asked a Wishmaster for true love!" "You did _what_," howled Phoebe? "I asked that fucking bastard for the man of my dreams...," howled the wizard! "I didn't put any conditions on it..." Her mind played back the evil entity's words. He'd demanded that _someone_ make a selfish wish. After he'd tricked her once and tore out her guts with a trap, she'd all but _thrown_ herself into his next trap.

And she'd dragged Finn with her.

Now Phoebe saw, and it all made sense. Slapping herself in the forehead, she growled, "you goo-brained _donk_! What were you _thinking_?!" If Finn was acting strangely, it wasn't because he'd suddenly started thinking with his pecker. This idiot had essentially just wished for him to be in love with _her_. Huntress was too busy crying to reply. She'd curled into a ball and now lay there sobbing. No longer angry, Phoebe sighed. It wasn't her fault. She hadn't meant for this to happen.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44:

The cave had changed a lot in the years since Finn had last been here. He'd come here with Canyon to kind of bury the past and move on, and things were still mostly intact back then. Four years later and lots of water under the bridge, and the cave was a _wreck_. For one, gone was Billy's clever door that hid his 'crack' from prying eyes. The stone had shifted somehow, shattering the stone and exposing the interior of the cave to the frigid air of the mountain pass where Billy had spent his last days. For another, there was the water.

There was freakin' butlload of water in Billy's cave right now. The place was all but swimming in it. There was a river of it flowing through the cave and out the doorway. Finn had found himself walking in it on his way up through the cave. He hadn't minded at first. The air was still warm, and his toes had enjoyed the cool feeling of the water. Now, his feet were blocks of ice, and he was wondering how he could get them dry. At least he'd been smart enough to tuck up his pants, or they would be soaking wet too.

The hero was more than a little irritated with himself. He'd run out of gas halfway up the mountain and ended up dropping some of his stuff in a stash by the side of the trail. He was planning to go back down and get it in the morning, but he was still half afraid it would get stolen during the night. On top of that, he'd dropped his backpack in the honkin' big pool that now occupied the middle of the cave. He'd slipped on the rocks beside the stream flowing out of the cave and managed to drop his pack–with his spare jacket, his blankets, and his dry socks–into the pool. He'd fished it out again, but everything was soaked by that point. It was stupid, and somebody with as much adventuring cred as he had, should have known better.

Now, with the sun going down and the air getting cooler, he pondered how he was going to get by. Morning was many hours away, and it was going to get pretty flippin' cold before then. "Fire, Finn," he told himself. He had to find something to start a fire. Scrabbling around in the cave on his bare feet, the hero searched for fuel that he could use. He'd sort of forgotten just how cold it was up here and how few trees stood around Billy's place. In the end, he was down to using some of Billy's old skins and loin cloths to make up his fire. Those gave off a pretty pungent smell when burned. Telling himself that he deserved worse for what he'd done to E and Simone, Finn resolved to do his best to get by until morning.

Back in the Candy Kingdom, five worried faces came strolling through the door of Sharky's Pub as the sun was setting. They found an inconsolable Huntress perched on a bar stool while Phoebe tried unsuccessfully to pull information out of her. She'd been crying, off and on, for hours. Now, when it appeared she couldn't really cry anymore, just the _sight_ of Simone sent her spiraling down into another crying jag. Far from being a heartless home-wrecker, the wizard looked lost and alone.

Bonnie strode up and asked, "anything?" "Can't get anything out of her," replied Phoebe. She was at a loss. Bonnie stepped past her. Putting on a gentle smile, she said, "hey, Emeraude. I kinda' heard about... _stuff_... Wanna' talk?" Huntress glanced away, suggesting that this wasn't going to be easy. Bonnie put a friendly arm around her shoulders and said, "I been there, girl. Believe me, it kind of sucks to be in love with somebody else's guy." Huntress flinched as if slapped, but she did nod as if in agreement. They were getting somewhere.

"Did he say anything," asked Bonnibel? "Where he was going? What he planned to do?" "He said he was going back to the start," rumbled Huntress. "Which was the same thing she told me," said Phoebe. She had no idea what it meant. Frowning, Simon repeated those words, over and over. He thought it was significant. "Could it mean where he was born," he asked? "Nobody knows where Finn was born," said Bonnie. "If anybody knew, it was his dad." Who was pushing up daisies now. "But it could still mean something," said Betty. "Where was he raised? Does anybody know?" Marceline said, "he was found in a forest a hundred miles from here by Jake's parents. They adopted him and took him in." "Maybe that's where he's going," suggested Simon.

"We need to find him," said Bonnie. "He sounds suicidal." Those words hit Simone like a punch in the gut, and her legs buckled. Simon caught her before she fell and steered her into a chair. "It's gonna' be ok, punkin," said he. "We'll find him. He'll be alright." Turning to Marcy, he said, "can you fly us there, Marcy?" "'nother half-hour," sighed Marcy. "Still too much sunlight." "Let's start walking," said Betty. Having known people who did themselves in, she didn't think they had time to waste. Men were shockingly business-like about doing themselves in. He may have been a jerk for cheating on his wife, but he didn't deserve to die for it.

The threesome got on their way, leaving Bonnie, Simone, Phoebe, and Huntress there. Turning to Simone, Emeraude babbled, "I-I'm sorry... I..." Her mind clear for the first time since Finn's admission, Simone replied, "we knew there was a price to be paid for Aquandrius's aide, Huntress. Finn and I spent months in fear of it." Wishmasters didn't like to be outsmarted, and Finn had done it twice. Flushing and glancing down at her feet, Huntress nodded. "I was in love with him the minute I finished making the wish," sighed Huntress.

It hadn't helped that he _was_ actually kind of hunky. She'd been flirting with him in her own rough way since they met. Him saving her life had been a catalyst, but the wish sealed the deal. "He tried to fight it," said Huntress, "and even against a wish he almost succeeded." Finn had been stubbornly resistant to her every attempt to seduce him. Unlike every other man she'd ever met, he did everything in his power to keep her at arms length. Even when she finally got in his pants, he would try to break it off at every turn. Every time they came back to the Kingdom, he would break things off with her, pushing her away and reminding her of just what he stood to lose.

In the end, the wood nymph had given in. There wasn't any hope of ever taking him from Simone. He would never leave his wife and child. "I was... I told him I was happy with just being his mistress," rumbled Huntress. She'd had it bad. Aquandrius's magic had its grip on her too if she was willing to give up any pretense of self-respect like that. Simone pitied her. At the same time, she was horrified to realize all that her husband had been going through. From months of cold showers, to the battle with the mutants, to his evil father's attempt to destroy Ooo in its entirety for profit, Finn had lived one helluva' life. There were literally millions of men who would have strayed a lot sooner and possibly never come back!

Simone tried to fight the tears that came. In the end, thoughts of all Finn had been through–much of it for _her_–sent tears cascading down her face. Taking that the wrong way, Huntress sobbed, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" And, momentarily, Phoebe and Bonnie had _two_ crying, blubbering women. Simone got up, came over to her rival and wrapped the wood-nymph up in her arms, holding her tight as they cried all over each other. Huntress had to make herself break away. It was time she left.

Staggering to her feet, she tottered there a minute, before starting to walk away. "Wh-where are you going," asked Simone? With a sigh, Huntress replied, "I-I'll get out of your way. I won't ever come back..." "You're alone, pregnant, and you're kind of a mess," Bonnie retorted, as she caught Emeraude by the shoulder. "Finn wouldn't want this," said Simone with a sigh. "He's too much the hero..." She stopped in mid-sentence. Bonnie and Phoebe both stared at her. "What," asked Phoebe? "What're you thinking?"

"I know where Finn is," murmured Simone. "He's not where his parents found him... He's... in Billy's cave." That was where it all started for Finn. He'd become a hero because of the giant. He'd modeled himself on the famous giant and even named his son after Billy. Simone knew for a fact that he sometimes went up there to look around the place and remember. Bonnie murmured, "it's freezing in the mountains this time of year. If he's gone up there..." Phoebe was already walking towards the door, and Simone stepped off after her. She wasn't going to let her husband freeze to death in a fucking cave! "C'mon, Huntress," said the former sorceress. "Our man needs saving."

Out in the street, Bonnie took charge, telling Phoebe, "go! We'll catch up!" Leaping into the air, the elemental went streaking across the sky, tearing out of there as she headed towards the mountains that lay south and east of the Candy Kingdom. Back on the street, Bonnie whistled for a cab, and then made the driver rush across town to the Royal Aviary. Once there, she rousted the keeper out of his office and made him help her get The Morrow saddled. Minutes later, the giant bird was beating his way across the sky, headed for the mountains with his master and two passengers aboard.

Phoebe meanwhile went streaking through the mountains at reckless speeds in terror over what Finn might be doing to himself or suffering just now. There were any number of ways for a man to come to grief in those mountains. There were bandits on the trails in the passes. There were more dangerous animals and monsters than you could shake a stick at. And Finn wasn't himself right now. He was very vulnerable. What if he just decided not to fight? What if he decided to fight something he knew he couldn't handle? The fear was killing her. Phoebe wasn't sure what she would do if he came to grief. In spite of what had happened between them, she still loved him. She felt a little guilty too, because she had done her share of tempting when Simone's back was turned.

Emeraude had told her all about all the women who'd thrown themselves in Finn's way. She'd told the elemental all about the way she'd fought with Bonnie over Finn on the way back from killing Martin. He'd had Bonnie in that dirty nightgown and the wizard in those skin-tight clothes pawing at him every night. Bonnie had even shamelessly rubbed her snatch against him like a fire-wolf in heat! Phoebe could hardly forget shamelessly flirting with him on the way back to the Candy Kingdom. She'd even more or less enabled Bonnie's flirting by constructing gowns she knew were over-the-top sexy to turn Finn's head. It had been harmless fun at the time, but now she realized it wasn't fun for _him_ when he still cared about both of them.

She found herself flying _faster_ as her feelings of guilt and remorse grew, until she was barely in control, skimming the surface of mountains at speeds that would surely end her life if she crashed. Finally, she came out in the little cup-shaped nook where Billy's cave sat to find the place completely changed. Pulling up into a zoom-climb before she clipped a slope that hadn't been there before, Phoebe drew up short and scanned the area, wondering if she'd taken a wrong turn in her haste.

Searching this way and that, the elemental woman slowly began to realize that it wasn't her memory that was faulty. This place had changed. The whole place had gone through some kind of upheaval! Floating down towards the ground, she found herself wondering if Simone hadn't guessed wrong. Maybe Finn wasn't here. Her eyes found the river, coming out of the mouth of a cave, and she realized that the whole place had undergone an earthquake. The whole area had shifted. If Finn was here, he might be in grave danger. The land could still be unstable.

_The cave,_ thought Phoebe. _It's the only shelter here._ If Finn was here, that was where he was. Trouble was, there was a river pouring out of the mouth of that cave. That could be deadly for her. Taking a deep breath, she thought, _hold on, Finn. I'm coming._ Streaking down to the cave mouth, she hovered there, mere feet above the level of the water. Gulping down a breath, the elemental went slowly floating through the darkness. Her flames lit the way, showing that there was actually a path here. It was narrow and looked slippery. It appeared that her hunch was correct. There was a possibility that Finn had come in here. Nevertheless, it was almost dangerously cold. It was very unpleasant for a fire-elemental, and she feared what this temperature would do to Finn.

Up ahead, Finn was fighting sleep, when he saw the glow. He'd been fighting to get to sleep at first, as the cold gnawed at him. Now he was fighting to stay awake, having realized that he'd made a serious mistake. He didn't have enough fuel. The cold was too powerful in here, and he didn't have the fuel to keep the fire going all night. He needed to stay awake, or he was a goner. That was where Phoebe found him-fading in and out of consciousness and trying to muster the strength to relight his fire.

A voice calling to him drew him back from the precipice, and his blurry eyes found Phoebe's beautiful face staring down at him. "Phoebe," he burbled? "Stay with me, Finn," pleaded the elemental. "You have to stay awake, Finn." "I'm sorry, Phoebes," he apologized. "I messed up. I just... wanted you to love me..." "Finn," she replied, "I never stopped. Don't go, Finn. Stay here with me. With us." His eyes began to close, sending her into an almost panic. Channeling her terror into action, the elemental woman pressed her hands into the hard stone on either side of him and channeled heat into the ground.

While she was about that, her phone rang. Drawing the handset one-handed, the elemental announced, "go!" It was Bonnie. "We're over what I think is the valley," said the Princess. "It's the same spot," interrupted Phoebe. "There's been a quake. There's water in the cave now. Finn's... I think he's freezing. Get down here, fast!" Bonnie hung up. Minutes later, the other three women came clambering over and around rocks to enter the cave with her. Seeing her husband stretched out there, Simone asked, "is he?" "He's alive but very weak," replied Phoebe. "He's hypothermic," announced Bonnie. "We need to get him out of this place and get him home."

Huntress cast around her, looking for something they could use to move him. He was a big man, and none of them were strong enough to move him on their own. Even together they would have trouble, and they still had to get him down the tunnel to the cave entrance. "Don't you have any spells," asked Phoebe? She was still a little irritated with Emeraude. "Only for killing," muttered the wizard. "I have something," replied Simone. Turning to Emeraude, she said, "do you trust me?" The wizard drew off her bracer and handed it over. Calling on her latent powers and drawing from the wood nymph's Instrument, Simone conjured a snow-golem.

As the other three watched in surprise, the magical construct came sauntering into the cave and fell to work wrapping Finn up in some of the remaining skins that lay on the ground. Under Simone's direction, the golem picked her husband up and, stooping over to clear the low ceiling, went walking out of the cave. Its departure broke the spell on the others. Bonnie went rushing after the golem. Moments later, Emeraude and Simone joined her, with Phoebe flying out alongside them.

Outside, the golem was already securing Finn to The Morrow's harness. Bonnie, Simone, and Emeraude wasted nary a moment in climbing up too. "Stay close, Phoebe," Bonnie commanded. "It's going to be cold, and we need your heat." "Roger," said the elemental as The Morrow leaped into the sky. Once airborne, Phoebe took up station above and behind the massive raptor, flying in tight formation as close as she dared. With the need for the golem gone, Simone banished the creature once more. Turning in her seat, she handed the wizard back her instrument with a smile and a sincere, 'thanks'. Flushing, Emeraude asked, "what happens now?" The former Ice Queen laughed, "we figure it out, Emeraude. We figure this out. When life hands you lemons..." "...you make lemonade," rumbled the wood nymph.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45:

Even with The Morrow, it took an hour to get back to the Candy Kingdom. The massive bird was exhausted when they swooped down over Bonnie's palace. The speed and the need to carry four had taken everything he had. Bonnie had called ahead, and Dr. Princess was waiting on them with a full medical team. Finn got rushed into the palace's infirmary and installed in a comfortable bed, while Drew Princess worked to save his life. Electric blankets got piled on to warm him, and samples of his bodily fluids got taken, while the four women who loved him paced and fidgeted outside. Finally, late that evening, Drew came out and sent the two pregnant women home to Emeraude's apartment, declaring that they would be much better off with a little sleep.

Phoebe hung about a little longer, but she took needed to get home. She had envoy's to deal with, and, now Finn was safe, she had to get back to work. When all were gone, Drew spent a little time giving detailed and intricate instructions to the candy-monarch–the one person she thought could be trusted to manage things–and went home herself. Bonnie watched her go, feeling troubled.

She hadn't had the dream in months. Really, after returning home from her stint as Martin's prisoner, Bonnie's focus had been on hunting down the remaining aliens and working with Phoebe on their little project. Oddly enough, after the last alien got locked up the day before, she'd gone home, gotten in bed early for a change, and proceeded to dream vividly about her two golden-haired kids. She'd dreamed off and on all night, losing herself in the fantasy only to awaken to this nightmare.

They had saved Finn, and that should be that. At the same time, this shocking situation had left her with a keen sense of what she'd lost. She'd saved Finn's life only to give him up anyway. She'd been thinking about that the whole way back from Billy's cave, her mind going in circles. Finn's marriage was in jeopardy, and she wanted him. At the same time, was Simone really going to turn him out after going to such lengths to save his life? It was foolish to believe that she would. Finn would be going home to his family the minute he was able to walk. Bonnie would be alone.

With the decision crystalized in her mind, the Princess went upstairs to her room to gather up a few things. Then, returning downstairs to the infirmary, she made sure no-one was about before slipping inside and locking the door. He was sleeping soundly when Bonnie settled onto the bed next to him. A glance at the machine showed that his vitals were all positive. He was going to make it. Likely his strength–and Phoebe's quick thinking–had saved his life. "I almost lost you again, Finn," sighed Bonnie. "For good this time." Her fingers stroked his hair gently. "I love you, Finn," she breathed. "I wish I'd been able to let myself say it. Now... Now I've missed my chance."

She'd toyed with this idea for years. Really, she'd been thinking of it since the day he showed so much interest in being a dad when she created Stormo. Stormo was gone now, but she still had this option. She knew that if she could find the courage to ask, he would have given her whatever she wanted. And it was for a good cause. If something happened to her, there would be somebody with the sanity and morality to take charge of things and carry on her work. She couldn't have Finn, but she could have a little piece of him.

Rising, Bonnie went into the bag she'd brought, drawing out a syringe. Easing it into the IV, she injected a solution into the tube, then stood back and waited. As she watched, Finn began to moan in his sleep, and his body twitched and fidgeted. Reaching out, she put a small device to his temple. He would only remember this night as a very sexy dream, but she hoped he carried that memory for the rest of his life.

Finn's body began to respond to the stimulus of the drug and the device. Placing a similar device on her own temple Bonnie entered rapport with her once-and-former kinda-sorta boyfriend. A shiver went through her as she felt the _lust_ he held in his heart–_still_ held–for her. He wanted to do such _things_ to her. Bonnie found herself growing a little creamy as those thoughts trickled through her mind. Reaching up, she began to caress her own breasts, teasing them and stroking them in time to the stimulus from the device. Opening the front of her lab-coat, she bared her beautiful body to the cool air of Finn's room.

Reaching down, she stroked the edges of her crack, finding her panties already a little damp. With her other hand, she reached out and pulled the sheets down from his body, exposing his hardened frame to her eyes. This wasn't the first she'd played with herself thinking of that body. It had started when he hit sixteen, and she'd been doing it on a regular basis since then. She'd pushed him away, burying herself in her work and telling herself repeatedly that it was the age gap, when she could have told him to wait and be patient. Now all she had left was this.

Slipping a hand under his boxers, the princess began to tug on and stroke his pecker, watching in satisfaction as it got fatter and harder before her eyes. At the same time, she rubbed her snatch, sliding a finger in and out against her button as Finn's rich fantasies filled her mind. When she had his cock hard as a pillar of stone, she slipped out of her soggy panties and climbed up over him. Pulling his fat dick out of his boxers, she keyed the device, locking in one of the many fantasies spilling through his mind. Then she fit the hard pecker against her honey-pot and went for a ride, losing herself in the images streaming through his mind...

"Hey, PB," replied the famous hero. "Whatcha' doin?" With a smile, Bonnie replied, "I was going to do an experiment. You can watch if you want..." Finn grinned and nodded. He had an experiment of his own in mind. Bonnie said, "I was just going to get changed and grab my lab-coat..." Finn nodded, as if he planned on just hanging out here until she came out. Breezing past, she went inside her room, shut the door, and proceed to get undressed. Humming a tune–one of Marceline's–she was already down to her little pink panties when Finn slipped into the room behind her.

He'd known PB had a big, round ass, but he'd never realized just how big it was. He'd fallen in love with her without even realizing just how pretty Bonnie really was. Now he stared in awe at the sight of her as she laid out the dress she was going to slip into–the ratty one she usually wore around her lab. His eyes fell down to the cleft between her sexy, sleek legs. Bonnie had nice legs. Finn's cock started to get hard as he imagined he could see the shape of her snatch between her thighs.

As he stared, Bonnie suddenly realized that she wasn't alone! As she spun around, she howled, "Finn Mertens! What are you doing in here?!" Though the bulge in his shorts might have told her. Snapping out of his daze, Finn realized it was now or never. If he didn't do something, he might get banished from the Candy Kingdom, never to return. Before Bonnie could say another word, Finn was across the room and on his knees in front of her. Then, like lickety-split, he had his nose pressed into her snatch. "F-Finn," squealed Bonnie. She'd never seen Finn do anything more sexual than kissing Flame-Princess. Now this?!

"F-Finn," squealed Bonnie! "No! Don't!" But Finn the Human was too busy taking a good whiff of Bonnie's snatch. Like all of PB, her snatch smelled like, well, _gum_. Sugary sweet with a vaguely citrus tang. Now Finn drew the crotch of those drawers aside and dug in, licking and slurping at her hot snatch. "Oh, glob, no," whined Bonnie! "Huuuhhh..." Her fingers twined in his hair, as she tried to push him away, but Finn had been stronger than Bonnie for years. He'd grown up hard, and he'd been built like a much older boy when he was twelve. Now, at fifteen, he was built like a wall. Finn's touch–the rasping of his tongue against her sensitive button–and the feel of his hands on her tender flesh had Bonnie getting hotter and hotter. "Finn," Bonnie moaned. "You can't do this... W-we can't do this..."

But those broad hips were grinding her snatch into his face. "Oooh," she croaked. Finn eased a finger into her, rubbing inside her hot love-channel. Skillfully, the handsome hero worked the pretty princess over, getting her hotter and hotter. Bonnie found herself getting weak in the knees, and when a blistering climax burst in her mind, she fell backwards onto her bed. That was when the handsome young man pounced. He was on her in a second, locking his lips to hers, even as his hands toyed with her tender flesh. She'd gotten so hot when she'd kissed him when she was physically thirteen. She'd been in the middle of puberty, and she had been more than tempted to let Finn finally fuck her. She had been until Lemongrab showed up.

Almost the thought of that curmudgeonly bastard woke her up, but just then Finn's questing finger hit her g-spot, and the pretty princess shivered and whined through another hot orgasm. She was panting and gasping for air when he finally let go of her. Bonnie didn't get much time to recover. Finn's hands skimmed those sopping-wet panties off her and tossed them into a corner. As he eased her legs apart, it was all too clear that he was going to fuck her. It was finally going to happen, and there seemed little she could do to stop it.

Bonnibel Bubblegum eased her thighs wide apart, opening herself for her handsome hero, even as she wrapped her arms around him and met his lips with hers. She could feel the fat, tip of his heroic pecker pressed in against her opening, and a sigh escaped her lips. It had been so long. Bonnie gasped as the handsome hero-boy snapped his hips forward, driving his thick rod into her. He was big. He was _very_ big. "Oh, Finn," she breathed as he drew back and did it again.

She was so wet and horny that it didn't take long at all for him to slip that thick pole up her hot, hungry slot. At the same time, he nipped and sucked at her bountiful boobies. They were a sweet handful, and she guided his hands to them and let him play with them. "Harder, baby," she sighed as her handsome hero railed her good. She'd thought he had moved on. She never expected _this_.

Bonnie's hips rose to meet Finn's every thrust as he banged her hard as he could, fucking squealing cries out of her soft lips. At the same time, the headboard of her bed banged into the wall in time to the hard fucking the occupant was getting. So great was the noise that Peppermint Butler came in to investigate, immediately turning around and walking right back out again at the sight he was seeing.

As Bonnie's cries rose to a crescendo, Finn let her have it with both barrels, blasting her belly with his goo. Bonnie screamed and clutched at her belly as she felt the hot sauce shooting into her. That could be enough to knock her up! She could be pregnant with Finn's baby! The thought of that sent her over the edge, and she wrapped those long legs around him as she climaxed hard one last time. Finn collapsed against her, nuzzling her neck with his nose. Softly, he whispered, "you're so pretty, Bonnie." Surprised, Bonnie burst into tears. Her hero hadn't forgotten at all how much he loved her. After she'd hurt him and pushed him away and tried to stop him from being happy with Flame Princess, he still loved her.

Bonnie awoke from her fantasy with a start, finding the device had timed out. Finn's pecker was slowly going soft inside her body. Her snatch felt a little sore after that, but oh-so _satisfied_. She could just imagine what it would have felt like to get the real thing. Her fingers stroked her stomach. She knew she was fertile, and she hoped she was pregnant. As she sat on his hips, Finn sighed in his sleep, relaxing into the comforting embrace of the bed.

Bonnie giggled as she realized why he was now so relaxed. Readying one of her innumerable gadgets, Bonnie eased off of him. She would capture his goo just in case. That would let her try again the easy way if she had to. In the now, she eased on her clothes, then carefully slid his boxers back on and the sheet back up over his body, smiling at the sight of that slowly softening cock as the sheet covered it. Reaching down, she stroked his face again. "I love you, Finn," she sighed. "So I'm going to let you go." Simone and Huntress had their prince-charming, but she had _something_ at least.

The following morning, Finn woke to Bonnie's smiling face and slowly sat up. He could tell something bad had happened to him because he was tucked into a hospital bed and laying next to a bunch of hospital machines. "Sooo... what gives," he asked? "You had hypothermia," said the Princess. Seeing the usual lack of comprehension, she amended that to, "you almost froze to death, Finn. If Simone hadn't figured out where you went, you'd be gone." Finn frowned. Simone hated him. "No," laughed Bonnie. "She doesn't..." Rising, she added, "but I'll let her explain..."

Bonnie slipped out and, moments later, Simone slipped in, carrying Billy. Her face showed fear and sorrow, and he flinched back from her. Staring at his toes, he mumbled, "you shouldn't have saved me. I... deserved it." Simone sat down beside him and replied, "and I would have deserved similar for letting you die for something that wasn't your fault." Finn's head snapped up. He hadn't heard that right. He'd cheated on her with Huntress. A lot. If that wasn't bad enough, he got Huntress preggers.

"And you were under the influence of the Master of the Maze the whole time," retorted Simone. Finn's jaw came open. Nodding, Simone reminded him, "there was only one selfish wish among the four of you..." Finn flushed in memory. He and the Wishmaster had both laughed at the supposed tough-girl for wanting love. "The joke was on you," sighed Simone. "You were in love with each other from the moment you left the maze..."

Finn gave her a look of profound unease. What was she saying? "I acknowledge that you didn't do this to me, Finn," said the beautiful woman. "That's... an excuse," muttered Finn. He wanted to wallow in his anger at himself. Sitting down at his side, Simone said, "I forgive you, Finn... Forgive yourself... Not even _you_ are strong enough to fight a wish." "But, Simone... if that's true won't I just... do it again," stammered Finn? Deep inside, he knew it was true. If he let himself think of Huntress even a moment, he could _feel_ a tug–a voice from inside urging him to find her.

Simone nodded. She imagined the Wishmaster's geas was on him even now. "I can't keep hurting you," said Finn. "I can't do that to Billy and Fionna." Fiercely, Simone retorted, "it's not _your_ choice, Finn. It's _mine_." Finn blushed. She'd use those words on him when he got mad at her for using the Tiara to freeze the goo-bros. She'd said that life without him wasn't worth living. She'd been willing to do what it took to preserve their love. Nodding, as she saw understanding in his eyes, Simone rose and went to the door. Drawing it open, she beckoned the person on the far side.

Finn and Huntress both blushed. "Hi, donk," mumbled the wizard. Finn glanced away. It was there, just as he'd feared. Just the sight of her... did things to him. He didn't understand why Simone had brought her here. As if reading his mind, Simone sighed, "we've made an arrangement..." At Finn's look of shock, Simone reminded him, "Billy and Fionna need to know their sister, Finn. Besides, I know you. You'd want to be part of her life." Finn blushed. She had him pegged!

Huntress blushed and grinned at him. "So," said Simone, "any questions?" Finn had just one. Turning to his sort-of girlfriend, he asked, "what we callin' her?" "Star," Huntress proudly replied. Finn frowned. It was a pretty name, but he was curious why she chose that. Rolling her eyes, Huntress retorted, "Simone picked it, donk. Think about it..." His face showed his concentration. He was missing something. Resting a hand on Huntress's shoulder, Simone laughed, "when you wish upon a star..." Finn laughed. He didn't want to hear about wishes ever again in his life!


	46. Epilogue

Epilogue:

Bonnie was supposed to be officiating on Finn the Human's second wedding in less than a year, and she seemed to be having a lot of trouble focusing. She was listless and loopy, and honestly Marceline feared she might be sick. Not that this whole twisted ceremony wasn't a little bit off-kilter to begin with. Finn the Human. Not only married, but married _twice_. Marceline could hardly believe it. The weenie was more than grown up. Apparently he was a stud.

The vampire felt like she'd kind of misjudged him. Honestly, she would have had to admit he'd kind of gotten _hot_ while she wasn't looking. She'd been impressed with his ability to land Simone. Simone was really pretty, and, even with her handicaps, she would have had a pile of guys sniffing after her. Finn had reeled her in and made her his woman, showing that he was all grown up, but Marceline had somehow managed to miss that. Now she kind of regretted not having a go at Finn herself. _Too late now,_ she thought.

A glance over her shoulder showed the other person/thing to regret not having a go at Finn. LSP was locked in a cage, muttering curses and making moon-eyes at the groom. She'd come in a wedding dress, apparently thinking that she could just horn in and marry the boy-hero too. Fortunately, Marceline and Phoebe had anticipated just such an attempt. Not that she was the only one. There were a whole lot of Princesses with sad faces here right now.

Surprisingly, Bonnie wasn't one of them. She seemed to be doing ok. At least she wasn't making sad faces at Finn. What she was doing was looking a little green. As Marcy watched her, the pink princess suddenly turned and rushed into the woods. Now suspicious, Marceline got up and followed. She found the royal pain standing under a tree, clutching her sides and looking seconds from emptying her guts.

"What the hell's the matter with _you_," demanded Marceline? Bonnie groaned, "feelin' a little... a little... Hoooh, boy..." Without a further word, Bonnie bent almost double and started hurling. Wiping at her mouth, Bonnie gave her friend a sheepish smile. "You're knocked up," announced Marceline. Bonnie's blushed confirmed it. "Who's," she asked? She didn't even know Bonnie was _dating_. The pink princess ducked her head and glanced away. Taken with a notion, the vampire asked, "that's Finn's baby, isn't it? What, was he railing you too?" "Uh, no," murmured Bonnie. She didn't sound very convincing, and honestly Marceline wouldn't have put it past Bonnie to go to the Wishmaster's maze herself. "Talk, Bonnie," demanded Marceline.

"I wanted a child," sighed the Princess. She'd been wanting a child seemingly forever. She'd tried _making_ one. She'd tried over and over again. Lemongrabs 1 and 2. Goliad. She'd never found the time to just settle down and do it the _right_ way. Bonnie admitted, "I... He was asleep..." Reaching into her bodice, she drew out a metallic cyclinder. As Marceline listened, she explained the aphrodisiac she'd slipped him and the device she'd used to share his fantasies about her. "You had sleep-sex," howled Marceline? Blushing, Bonnie shushed her. "Phoebe'll kill me if she finds out," hissed the Princess. "Kinky, Bonnie," chuckled Marceline. "Really kinky." Shaking her head, she asked, "was it good?" Giggling, Bonnie nodded.

"So I'm guessing he doesn't know," murmured Marceline. "Nope," said the princess, "and you can't tell him. Things are too raw with Simone as it is. And... well, I sort of want to keep my baby to myself... not have him wandering around swinging a sword with his dad." Marceline could understand that. "So what's in the vial," asked the vampire? Grinning and blushing, Bonnie replied, "I saved some. I wanted two, but I wasn't sure I'd ever have a chance again." Marceline blushed. She was going to impregnate _herself_?! With a shrug, Bonnibel said, "I'm a scientist. I have the knowledge. Why not? My baby won't really get to be with his brother and sisters, so why not have two. They'll have each other." And since Finn was her Captain of the Guard, they'd probably see their father almost as much as his other kids.

It was a typically _logical_ argument from Bonnie–with her typically twisted subtext. And it aroused a strange desire in the vampire. If she had a child of her own, she could raise it as she saw fit, and she wouldn't be alone in the world anymore. The child of a vampire and human, a dhampir, would be just as immortal as she was. He or she would even be able to go out in sunlight. The more she thought about it, the more the idea had appeal to Marceline. She knew Finn would have obliged her if she asked him. She had him wrapped around her finger.

Reaching out, Marceline snatched the vial from Bonnie. "Got any more of this," she demanded? "Just one more vial," sighed Bonnie. "I-I'll give it to you if you promise to keep this quiet." "Ok," said Marceline. "Deal." "Not a word," said the Princess. "Scout's Honor," replied the vampire. She even pinky-swore. It wasn't as though _she_ wanted her child running off and abandoning her to hang with Finn. Someday, maybe, but she'd want to keep this quiet too. "Ok," said Bonnie. "We better get back.

On the other side of the clearing, Phoebe and Simone sat watching as Huntress's aunt helped her get her face put on for the wedding. The fire-elemental couldn't, for the life of her, understand why her friend was doing this. It didn't make sense. Finn was _Simone's_ husband. Huntress had butted in with her stupid wish. More to the point, Huntress had been willing to leave. She was going to walk away.

Far from looking angry or even resigned, Simone looked... _satisfied_. "You sure you want to do this," asked the elemental? Simone looked up with a puzzled little frown. Phoebe laid it all out. "She's... pushing her way into _your_ marriage," said the Flame King. She would have gone to the maze and won a wish herself to put things back to right. "Phoebe," sighed Simone, "I can't wish her baby away. I can't. Star doesn't deserve that, and I don't want my best friend risking her neck for a wish from that evil bastard. We've all risked enough on that. Who knows what he'd do this time? Lastly, I won't watch Finn destroy himself trying to look after her from afar. This... This feels right."

Phoebe nodded. Those were all good points. It just didn't seem fair that Simone had to put up with the other woman. Laughing, Simone reminded her, "_life_ isn't fair, sweetie. It's all about how you handle the curves. I think we'll be fine." She was coming to understand Emeraude. Beneath that gruff exterior was a vulnerable young woman trying to claw her way out of a life full of ugliness. And she did love Finn. They both did. It would be nice to have someone to share the joys and trials of pregnancy with anyway. "Looks like Bonnie's back," sighed Phoebe. "Alright, dear," chuckled Simone. "I'll push her along."

Rising, Simone slipped across to the makeup table. Emeraude looked up in embarrassment to see her rival there. She didn't half understand why Simone would do this. In her place, Emeraude would have turned the other woman into a pin-cushion and dumped the body somewhere far away. Instead, Simone was willing to let her stay. Simone gave her a reassuring smile and asked, "ready?" "I... uh...," stammered Huntress. Simone had a fairly good idea what was afflicting Emeraude. Taking her hand, she said, "we're going to be alright, Emeraude."

The feel of her cool skin against the wizard's fingers was calming and reassuring. Nodding, the young wood-nymph climbed unsteadily to her feet. "Feeling alright," asked Simone? They were both suffering a little morning-sickness at the moment. Simone had experienced her mad-dash to the woods an hour ago. "I-I'll make it," rumbled Huntress.

Finn was waiting beside the altar as Emeraude made her way up the aisle. He looked... _happy_. He was a strange admixture of worry and happiness. Simone gave him a smile, and she squeezed Emeraude's hand. They were going to get through this, and they would be a happy family together. If this was the worst the stupid Wishmaster could throw at them, well, so what? Simone had another daughter to love and a sort-of sister to have at her side.

The closer they got, the more comfortable Emeraude got. Her steps got more assured, and her grip on Simone's hand was firmer. A glance to Simone's left found the wood-nymph smiling back. Finn's face was alternating between being very pale and being red-hot with embarrassment just now. No matter how many times Simone assured him that this was alright, he was still mortally ashamed of what he'd done. She hoped that, in time, he'd come to accept that this was just how things were going to be. This was the penance for saving Simone's sanity, and she was comfortable with it. She still had Finn. She still had Billy. They had their home, their family, and their friends.

Standing there before Princess Bubblegum, Finn and Emeraude spoke their vows with Simone as happy witness. Bonnie bobbled her lines a couple of times, and she looked a little off today for some reason. But there were a lot of women making moon-eyes at Finn here today who were a little unhappy that they had seemingly missed a chance to be the second Mrs. Mertens. As Simone watched, Finn raised the veil from Emeraude's beautiful face and kissed those soft lips.

The clapping this time was even more subdued than when Simone and Finn got married, but Simone hardly cared, nor did her new sister. Arm-in-arm they came back down the aisle, with Simone trailing behind them, wearing a beautiful smile on her pale face. As soon as they had reached the end, Cinnamon Bun stood up and announced that the refreshments were ready. The guests made a bee-line for the tables, anxious to nosh.

Finn, Simone, and the former Huntress moved to the head table and sat down, with both women occupying spaces on either side of him. "Well," rumbled the wood nymph, "I guess we made it..." "Hardly," chuckled Simone. "This takes a _lifetime_ of work, dear. We're only getting started." Blushing, Emeraude nodded. As they watched, Bonnie and Marceline sat down at one of the other tables and started talking in subdued voices. Simone couldn't really help wondering what that was about. Just like Phoebe, she'd become suspicious of Bonnibel's scheming. She had accepted that the woman was going to be in her life, but trust was hard to come by.

As they watched the guests mill about, talking and eating, Jungle Princess wrapped her powerful hands around Engagement Ring Princess's neck. "Better put a stop to that," said Finn, as he shot to his feet. Simone admonished him to stay right where he was. She went to go deal with it herself. Before she was even halfway there, Phoebe intervened. Not even Jungle Princess was crazy enough to refuse the hostile fire-elemental. The fight, such as it was, got broken up in a heartbeat. The Flame King 'escorted' Jungle Princess to the refreshment table and got her a drink. Simone intercepted the other princess to find out just what had set off the fight.

"I just asked why she didn't wear a nicer outfit," explained Engagement Ring Princess. Simone almost belted the wench herself. That was _not_ something you wanted to say to another woman–especially when half the world seemed to be jealous of the woman getting married today. Simone admonished her to be a little more sensitive, then turned to go back to the head table.

She found Huntress had moved to occupy Finn's lap while she was away, and she immediately felt a pang of loss. That had been _her_ not long ago. She clearly remembered sitting on Finn's lap while the wedding photographer took their picture. Now, as she crossed the distance to the table, she found herself in fear of being squeezed out. _You knew this wouldn't be easy,_ thought the former wizard.

"Looking cozy, I see," teased Simone. Finn glanced up at his wife. She was joking, but he knew there was a subtext of pain there. She had to watch him with another woman. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her down onto his lap, announcing, "hey, I got _two_ knees." Simone stared at him a moment. Any doubts that he still loved her were washed away. She could still see it there in his eyes. Finn slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Kissing her cheek, he whispered, "I'll always love you. No wish can ever change that." Both women leaned in against him and lay their heads on either shoulder. Emeraude took Simone's hand and gave it a squeeze. That touch seemed to say, 'we can do this.' _We _will_ do this,_ thought Simone.

**And there you have it. I hope this has been a fulfilling ending for all those who hung in there to see it. I have a sequel on the drawing boards set 17 years into the future with the working title "Bonnie's Revelation". It will go a little slower than this one, but I hope it will keep you all as entertained as this one.**


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